What can be treated?
The diseases or disorders for which acupuncture therapy has been tested in controlled clinical trials reported in the recent literature can be classified into four categories as shown below.
Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture has been proved - through controlled trials - to be an effective treatment:
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Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and chemotherapy
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Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
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Bilary colic
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Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
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Dysentery, acute bacillary
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Dysmenorrhoea, primary
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Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis and gastrospasm)
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Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
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Headache
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Hypertension, essential
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Hypotension, primary
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Induction of labour
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Knee pain Leukopenia
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Low back pain
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Malposition of fetus, correction of
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Morning sickness
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Nausea and vomiting
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Neck pain
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Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
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Periarthritis of shoulder
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Postoperative pain
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Renal colic
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Rheumatoid arthritis
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Sciatica
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Sprain
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Stroke
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Tennis elbow
Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed:
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Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
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Acne vulgaris
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Alcohol dependence and detoxification
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Bell's palsy
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Bronchial asthma
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Cancer pain
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Cardiac neurosis
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Cholecystitis, chromic, with acute exacerbation
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Cholelithiasis
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Competition stress syndrome
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Craniocerebral injury, closed
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Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin dependent
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Earache
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Epidemic haemorrhagic fever
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Epistaxis, simple (without generalised or local disease)
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Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection
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Female infertility
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Facial spasm
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Female urethral syndrome
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Fibromyalgia and fascitis
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Gastrokinetic disturbance
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Gouty arthritis
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Hepatitis B virus carrier status
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Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
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Hyperlipaemia
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Hypo-ovarianism
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Insomnia
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Labour pain
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Lactation, deficiency
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Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic
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Ménière disease
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Neuralgia, post-herpetic
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Neurodermatitis
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Obesity
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Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
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Osteoarthritis
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Pain due to endoscopic examination
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Pain in thromboangitis obliterans
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Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein-Leventhal syndrome)
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Postextubation in children
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Postoperative convalescence
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Premenstrual syndrome
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Prostatitis, chronic
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Pruritus
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Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome
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Ranyaud syndrome, primary
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Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection
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Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
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Retention of urine, traumatic
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Schizophrenia
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Sialism, drug-induced
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Sjörgen syndrome
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Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
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Spine pain, acute
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Stiff neck
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Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
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Tietze syndrome
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Tobacco dependence
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Tourette syndrome
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Ulcerative colitis, chronic
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Urolithiasis
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Vascular dementia
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Whooping cough (pertussis)
Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which there are only individual controlled trials reporting some therapeutic effects, but for which acupuncture is worth trying because treatment by conventional and other therapies is difficult:
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Chloasma
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Choroidopathy, central serous
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Colour blindness
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Deafness
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Hypophrenia
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Irritable colon syndrome
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Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury
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Pulmonary heart disease, chronic
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Small airway obstruction
Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture may be tried provided the practitioner has special modern medical knowledge and adequate monitoring equipment:
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Breathlessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
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Coma
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Convulsions in infants
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Coronary heart disease (angina pectoris)
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Diarrhoea in infants and young children
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Encephalitis, viral, in children, late stage
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Paralysis, progressive bulbar and pseudobulbar