Common Questions About Acupuncture Treatment
Frequently Asked Questions
How can acupuncture help me?
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognises acupuncture in the treatment of the following diseases, conditions or symptoms:
- Acne
- Addictions to tobacco, food, sweets, etc.
- Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy
- Allergies and intolerances
- Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
- Anxiety
- Arthritis
- Back pain
- Biliary colic
- Cancer support
- Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
- Dysentery, acute bacillary
- Dysmenorrhoea, primary
- Emotional disturbances: sadness; melancholy; stress; anger
- Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)
- Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
- Fertility (IVF support)
- Headaches and migraines
- Hypertension, essential
- Hypotension, primary
- Induction of labour
- Knee pain
- Leukopenia
- Lower back pain
- Malposition of fetus
- Menstrual problems
- Menopausal symptoms
- Migraines
- Morning sickness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Neck pain
- Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
- Pain management
- Periarthritis of shoulder
- Postoperative pain
- Pregnancy
- Renal colic
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Scarring
- Sleep disturbances: insomnia; somnolence
- Sports injuries
- Stress
To view the WHO guidelines in their entirety and a list of diseases/disorders for which acupuncture has been tested, please visit the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) website by clicking here.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides guidelines for the NHS on the use of treatments and care of patients. Due to the difficulty in collecting scientific evidence relating to acupuncture, NICE currently only recommends considering acupuncture as a treatment for the following conditions:
- Chronic tension-type headaches
- Migraines
For the most up-to-date research and evidence on the efficacy of acupuncture, please visit the BAcC or Evidence Based Acupuncture websites.