by S. L. Baker, features writer

(NaturalNews) The results of the largest randomized back pain trial of its kind shows acupuncture clearly helps people with chronic low back pain more than standard medical care. But the results of the SPINE (Stimulating Points to Investigate Needling Efficacy) study, just published in the May 11, 2009 Archives of Internal Medicine, has some researchers scratching their heads over the remarkable findings. The reason the study's results are so intriguing? Not just one but three different forms of acupuncture beat out western medicine in helping relieve low low back pain

The SPINE trial included 638 adults with chronic low back pain who were patients at two nonprofit health  plans, Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, Washington, and Northern California Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. All the research subjects ranked their pain as a minimum of three on a scale of zero to 10 of "bothersome" discomfort.

None of the participants had ever experienced acupuncture before participating in the study. They were randomly put into one of four groups for different kinds of treatment. All received standard medical care  but three groups of patients also were treated with varying forms of acupuncture -- needle puncture at points individualized for each case, standardized acupuncture that used a single prescription of needle punctures at points on the back and back of the legs and what the researchers called "simulated acupuncture" that involved pressing on points with a toothpick without penetrating the skin.

All the research subjects in the three acupuncture groups were treated twice a week for three weeks and then had weekly treatments for another month. At eight weeks, six months and 12 months, the researchers retested back-related dysfunction and measured improvements in the patients' symptoms.

The SPINE investigators found that at eight weeks all three acupuncture groups were functioning far better with less pain than the group getting only standard medical care. What's more, additional follow-ups found the benefits of acupuncture lasted for a year for many of these people.

"We found that simulated acupuncture, without penetrating the skin, produced as much benefit as needle acupuncture -- and that raises questions about how acupuncture works," SPINE trial leader Daniel C. Cherkin, PhD, a senior investigator at Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle, said in a statement to the media.

However, the idea the non-skin penetrating acupuncture was not the real deal, and was, instead, "simulated acupuncture" is disingenuous. Here's why: while most forms of acupuncture studied by Western researchers do involve piercing the skin, the ancient healing therapy also includes non-piercing types of acupuncture. In fact, the web site for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health, which funded the SPINE trial, notes that acupuncture "describes a family of procedures involving the stimulation of anatomical points on the body using a variety of techniques." And "stimulation" does not necessarily equal "skin piercing."

Cherkin's co-author, Karen J. Sherman, PhD, MPH, a senior investigator at Group Health Center for Health Studies, specifically pointed this out in the media statement: "Historically, some types of acupuncture have used non-penetrating needles. Such treatments may involve physiological effects that make a clinical difference."

Josephine P. Briggs, MD, director of NCCAM, noted that SPINE "..adds to the growing body of evidence that something meaningful is taking place during acupuncture treatments outside of actual needling. Future research is needed to delve deeper into what is evoking these responses."

For more information:
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupunc...
http://www.ghc.org/news/index.jhtml

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Back pain article NPR link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104200910&sc=emaf 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5683790

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NCCAM Research findings

Acupuncture Shows Promise in Improving

Rates of Pregnancy Following IVF

A review of seven clinical trials of acupuncture given with embryo transfer in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) suggests that acupuncture may improve rates of pregnancy. An estimated 10 to 15 percent of couples experience reproductive difficulty and seek specialist fertility treatments, such as IVF. IVF, which involves retrieving a woman's egg, fertilizing it in the laboratory, and then transferring the embryo back into the woman's womb is an expensive, lengthy, and stressful process. Identifying a complementary approach that can improve success would be welcome to patients and providers.

According to Eric Manheimer of the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Integrative Medicine and colleagues who conducted the systematic review, acupuncture has been used in China for centuries to regulate the female reproductive system. With this in mind, the reviewers analyzed results from seven clinical trials of acupuncture in women who underwent IVF to see if rates of pregnancy were improved with acupuncture. The studies encompassed data on over 1366 women and compared acupuncture, given within one day of embryo transfer, with sham acupuncture, or no additional treatment.

The reviewers found that acupuncture given as a complement to IVF increased the odds of achieving pregnancy. According to the researchers, the results indicate that 10 women undergoing IVF would need to be treated with acupuncture to bring about one additional pregnancy. The results, considered preliminary, point to a potential complementary treatment that may improve the success of IVF and the need to conduct additional clinical trials to confirm these findings.

References

• Manheimer E, Zhang G, Udoff L, et al. Effect of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilization: systematic review and meta-analysis. British Medical Journal. Published online February 2008.

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by S. L. Baker, features writer

(NaturalNews) The results of the largest randomized back pain trial of its kind shows acupuncture clearly helps people with chronic low back pain more than standard medical care. But the results of the SPINE (Stimulating Points to Investigate Needling Efficacy) study, just published in the May 11, 2009 Archives of Internal Medicine, has some researchers scratching their heads over the remarkable findings. The reason the study's results are so intriguing? Not just one but three different forms of acupuncture beat out western medicine in helping relieve low back pain.

The SPINE trial included 638 adults with chronic low back pain who were patients at two nonprofit health plans, Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, Washington, and Northern California Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. All the research subjects ranked their pain as a minimum of three on a scale of zero to 10 of "bothersome" discomfort.

None of the participants had ever experienced acupuncture before participating in the study. They were randomly put into one of four groups for different kinds of treatment. All received standard medical care but three groups of patients also were treated with varying forms of acupuncture -- needle puncture at points individualized for each case, standardized acupuncture that used a single prescription of needle punctures at points on the back and back of the legs and what the researchers called "simulated acupuncture" that involved pressing on points with a toothpick without penetrating the skin.

All the research subjects in the three acupuncture groups were treated twice a week for three weeks and then had weekly treatments for another month. At eight weeks, six months and 12 months, the researchers retested back-related dysfunction and measured improvements in the patients' symptoms.

The SPINE investigators found that at eight weeks all three acupuncture groups were functioning far better with less pain than the group getting only standard medical care. What's more, additional follow-ups found the benefits of acupuncture lasted for a year for many of these people.

"We found that simulated acupuncture, without penetrating the skin, produced as much benefit as needle acupuncture -- and that raises questions about how acupuncture works," SPINE trial leader Daniel C. Cherkin, PhD, a senior investigator at Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle, said in a statement to the media.

However, the idea the non-skin penetrating acupuncture was not the real deal, and was, instead, "simulated acupuncture" is disingenuous. Here's why: while most forms of acupuncture studied by Western researchers do involve piercing the skin, the ancient healing therapy also includes non-piercing types of acupuncture. In fact, the web site for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health, which funded the SPINE trial, notes that acupuncture "describes a family of procedures involving the stimulation of anatomical points on the body using a variety of techniques." And "stimulation" does not necessarily equal "skin piercing."

Cherkin's co-author, Karen J. Sherman, PhD, MPH, a senior investigator at Group Health Center for Health Studies, specifically pointed this out in the media statement: "Historically, some types of acupuncture have used non-penetrating needles. Such treatments may involve physiological effects that make a clinical difference."

Josephine P. Briggs, MD, director of NCCAM, noted that SPINE "..adds to the growing body of evidence that something meaningful is taking place during acupuncture treatments outside of actual needling. Future research is needed to delve deeper into what is evoking these responses."

For more information:
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupunc...
http://www.ghc.org/news/index.jhtml

*    *    * 

The Treatment of ADHD

By Karen Donahue,  M.Ac.

Conservative estimates of the prevalence of ADHD suggest that 3-5% of all school age children in the US are afflicted with  ADHD.  Of that group, 70% of these children also have learning disabilities.  This leaves us with the mind-boggling questions of why and what do we do about it.  How are parents to come to terms with this when even the experts cannot come to agreement about diagnosis, treatment, and the pathogenesis of the disorder:  Current theories recognize that there is a psychosocial component to the disorder but the morphosis of that component is not known - is it the ADHD that causes the psychosocial disruptions or is it the psychosocial problems that contribute to the ADHD?  What is the best treatment for this disorder?

Much of the research has indicated that the incidence of ADHD in boys is greater than that of girls.  Recent literature is showing that there are two subsets of ADHD - impulsivity and inattentiveness.  The boys generally will fall into the impulsivity category and the girls into the inattentive category.  The nature of impulsivity makes ADHD easier to recognize in boys than in girls.  Impulsive behavior is disruptive in the classroom and will be attended to.  The shy withdrawn behavior exhibited by the inattentive subset does not draw attention.  It may even be thought of as desirable behavior by over-worked and underpaid teachers.

What is it that distinguishes a child that is just shy from the child with ADHD?    In Understanding Girls with AD/HD, Kathleen Nadeau et al. cite behaviors that can signal parents and teachers that there may be a problem.  They are:

*  school phobia or avoidance                                

*  low self-esteem 

* high IQ and creativity, low academic performance

 * disheveled appearance, grooming problems

*  poor organizational skills, messiness                

*  sleep  problems

*  shyness                                                                  

 *  poor social skills

*  withdrawal in the classroom

The authors continue, suggesting the following solutions to help the child to overcome their limitations.

*  understanding their struggles

*  attention and affection to offset daily assaults to their self esteem

*   recognition of their high IQ

*  affirmation and encouragement of their creativity

*  appropriate stimulation and challenges

*  help with structure and organization*  help with sleep problems

*  support to develop assertiveness skills

*  recognition of social difficulties and help in learning social skills

*  acknowledgement of their need of a different learning environment

Aside from these solutions, it is important to get the child diagnosed as early as possible and provide them with a comprehensive treatment plan.  There remains some controversy over whether ADHD stems from a neurological disorder or a psycho-social behavior disorder.  There are also studies that show experience (or behavior) can incur an alteration of brain chemicals and genes in animals.  Whether the origin is neurological or not it is clear that there is learning, psychological and social functioning issues that need to be addressed.

Psycho pharmaceutical interventions are commonly used for those with the hyperactive component of the disorder.  As Michael Brown's article in the Journal of Counseling and development states the medications "deceases inappropriate behavior but it does not improve appropriate behavior without additional intervention."  There are other factors to consider in choosing the pharmaceutical route.  These are controlled drugs that are stimulants - they can cause problems with sleep as well as damage the liver and kidneys when taken on a long-term basis.  Is this really how we want to treat a population that is already at risk for addictive behavior?  What are the alternatives?