Hold the Chemicals: Bring On the Needles
By: Nora Isaacs, New York TImes
December 13, 2007

Cosmetic Acupuncture is gaining popularity, especially with women who want to slow signs of aging but do not want to go under the knife or use dangerous chemicals.

Moving the Needles
By Tara Parker-Plog at nytimes.com/health
Oct 2, 2007

Six months of acupuncture provides more relief for back pain than conventional treatments, according to a new study of nearly 1,200 patients. While nearly as many patients receiving a sham form of acupuncture also reported relief, 34 percent of them needed extra pain pills, compared with just 15 percent of patients receiving legitimate acupuncture.

Acupuncture can reduce drug costs for pain patients
AcupunctureToday.com October 2007, Vol. 8, Issue 10

A study from Spain, published in the June 2007 issue of the journal Acupuncture in Medicine, showered there is a cost benefit to acupuncture treatment in terms of reduced use of analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications.

Among the 5, 690 patients who completed treatment, the mean success rate was 79.7%, with the highest rates (93%) for patients with a headache. The mean reduction in pain intensity amounted to a 67% fall from baseline levels. No severe adverse event was recorded.

In looking at the cost for medications consumed before and after acupuncture treatment, the researchers found the mean difference to be $9.70 per week, per patient. The greatest cost savings was for patients with headaches, with a mean difference of $35.70 per week, per patient.

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