Although other studies have found acupuncture to be ineffective, new research from the Mayo Clinic has found that it can provide substantial benefit to fibromyalgia sufferers. The researchers, led by Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist David Martin, found that fibromyalgia patients treated with six sessions of acupuncture experienced significant symptomatic improvement compared to a group given simulated acupuncture sessions.
"This study shows there is something real about acupuncture and its effects on fibromyalgia," said Martin. "Our study was performed on patients with moderate to severe fibromyalgia. It's my speculation that if acupuncture works for these patients with recalcitrant fibromyalgia - where previous treatments had not provided satisfactory relief - it would likely work for many of the millions of fibromyalgia patients."
Martin added that because no cure exists for fibromyalgia, patients are often left frustrated by the continuing pain and fatigue. "Acupuncture is one of the few things shown to be effective for these symptoms. It may be particularly attractive to patients who are unable to take medications because of intolerable side effects," he said.
The study, presented at the International Association for the Study of Pain Congress, included 50 patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia for whom other symptom-relief treatments were ineffective. The patients were randomly assigned to receive acupuncture or simulated acupuncture and were not informed which treatment they received. The treatments were administered in six sessions over two to three weeks.
For the patients receiving acupuncture, the symptoms of pain, fatigue and anxiety were significantly improved. After seven months, however, the patients' symptoms of pain, anxiety and fatigue had returned to previous levels. The patients experienced the largest improvement in symptoms one month following treatment.
Martin was surprised by the effect acupuncture had on some of the symptoms. "We expected the acupuncture to improve the pain," he said. "We didn't really expect the largest benefit to be in fatigue or anxiety." Martin suggests that acupuncture affects symptoms such as anxiety and fatigue because it may target the root cause and not the daily symptoms of fibromyalgia. "In a Western view of medicine, we're modulating sensory input through acupuncture," he explained. "Whenever there's an input to the nervous system, it responds and adapts to the input - sometimes in ways that are beneficial to patients. This is not so different from the traditional Eastern explanation of acupuncture that describes needles as altering the flow of life energy, called Qi."
According to Martin, fibromyalgia patients have a nervous system disorder in which they have a "revved up pain threshold" which is exacerbated by stress and inadequate sleep. "You can take blood tests, X-rays, muscle tests, and you will find nothing abnormal," he said. "Many fibromyalgia patients suffer suspicion from their spouses and friends that their symptoms are 'all in their head' or that they lack sufficient will or fortitude to meet their obligations to work, family and friends. Usually it comes as a welcome diagnosis when these patients learn it's fibromyalgia. Then they can learn ways to cope with the disorder and gain strength from sharing with others who have the same problems."
