Bodywork News and Research

Acupuncture for Treatment of Insomnia: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Nov;15(11):1171-1186

Authors: Cao H, Pan X, Li H, Liu J

Abstract Background: Acupuncture is commonly used in treating insomnia in China, and clinical studies have shown that acupuncture may have a beneficial effect on insomnia compared with Western medication. Methods: We included randomized controlled trials on acupuncture for insomnia. We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library (2008 Issue 3), China Network Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), and Wan Fang Database. All searches ended in December 2008. Two authors extracted data and assessed the trials' quality independently. RevMan 5.0.17 software was used for data analysis with effect estimate presented as relative risk (RR) and mean difference (MD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Forty-six (46) randomized trials involving 3811 patients were included, and the methodological quality of trials was generally fair in terms of randomization, blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis. Meta-analyses showed a beneficial effect of acupuncture compared with no treatment (MD -3.28, 95% CI -6.10 to -0.46, p = 0.02; 4 trials) and real acupressure compared with sham acupressure (MD -2.94, 95% CI -5.77 to -0.11, p = 0.04; 2 trials) on total scores of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Acupuncture was superior to medications regarding the number of patients with total sleep duration increased for >3 hours (RR 1.53, 95% CI 1.24-1.88, p < 0.0001). However, there was no difference between acupuncture and medications in average sleep duration (MD -0.06, 95% CI -0.30-0.18, p = 0.63). Acupuncture plus medications showed better effect than medications alone on total sleep duration (MD 1.09, 95% CI 0.56-1.61, p < 0.0001). Similarly, acupuncture plus herbs was significantly better than herbs alone on increase of sleep rates (RR 1.67, 95% CI 1.12-2.50, p = 0.01). There were no serious adverse effects with related to acupuncture treatment in the included trials. Conclusions: Acupuncture appears to be effective in treatment of insomnia. However, further large, rigorous designed trials are warranted.

PMID: 19922248 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Complementary medicine for the management of chronic stress: superiority of active versus passive techniques.

J Hypertens. 2009 Nov 2;

Authors: Lucini D, Malacarne M, Solaro N, Busin S, Pagani M

BACKGROUND: Recent epidemiological data indicate that chronic stress is an important component of cardiovascular risk, implicitly suggesting that stress management might offer a useful complement to orthodox medical treatment and prevention of hypertension. In this context, information on mechanisms, such as subclinical increases in arterial pressure and sympathetic drive, is well documented. Conversely, evidence on methodologies and comparative efficacy needs to be improved. Accordingly, this study was planned to test the autonomic and subjective effects of two popular modalities of stress management. METHODS: We studied 70 patients complaining of stress-related symptoms, avoiding any potential autonomic confounder, such as established hypertension or drug treatment. Patients were divided in three groups: group I (n = 30) followed a breathing-guided relaxation training (active); group II (n = 15) an oriental massage, shiatsu (passive); and group III (n = 25) followed a sham intervention. Subjective effects of stress were assessed by validated questionnaires and autonomic nervous system regulation by spectral analysis of RR interval variability. Factor analysis was used to extract information simultaneously embedded in subjective and functional data. RESULTS: Although the problem of a greater quantity of treatment procedure in the active group than in the passive group existed, results showed that active relaxation, further to slightly reducing arterial pressure, might be more effective in relieving symptoms of stress and inducing an improved profile of autonomic cardiovascular regulation, as compared with passive massage or sham intervention. CONCLUSION: This active technique seems capable of beneficially addressing simultaneously the individual psychological and physiopathological dimensions of stress in clinical settings, with potentially beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk profile.

PMID: 19887956 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]