Analysis shows acupuncture benefits

CHICAGO -- Acupuncture gets a thumbs-up for helping to relieve pain from chronic headaches, backaches and arthritis in a review of more than two dozen studies, the latest analysis of an often-studied therapy that has as many fans as critics.

Some believe its only powers are a psychological placebo effect. But some doctors believe that, even if that's the explanation for its effectiveness, there's no reason not to offer it if it makes people feel better.

The new analysis examined 29 studies involving almost 18,000 adults. The researchers concluded that the needle remedy worked better than usual pain treatment and slightly better than fake acupuncture.

The results "provide the most robust evidence to date that acupuncture is a reasonable referral option," wrote the authors, who include researchers with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan and several universities in England and Germany.

The new analysis was published online yesterday in Archives of Internal Medicine.

Acupuncture has become more mainstream. The military has used it to help treat pain from war wounds, and California recently passed legislation to include acupuncture among treatments recommended for coverage under the new U.S. health care law. -- AP