What conditions does Acupuncture treat?

World Health Organization (WHO) on Acupuncture

The use of acupuncture has been shown to effectively treat many types of conditions. In 2003 the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a report called “Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials.” Below is a list of the conditions mentioned in that report.

Psychological Conditions

• Depression
• Anxiety
• OCD
• PTSD
• Somatization disorder
• Hypersomnia
• Insomnia

Neurological Conditions

• Headache and migraine
• Trigeminal neuralgia
• Facial palsy (early stage, within three to six months)
• Paresis following stroke
• Peripheral neuropathies
• Meniere’s Disease
• Nocturnal enuresis
• Cervicobrachial syndrome
• Neurogenic bladder dysfunction
• Intercostal neuralgia
• Disc problems

Musculo-skeletal Conditions

• Muscle pain, swelling, stiffness and weakness
• Localized traumatic injuries, sprains, strains, tendinitis, contractures
• Arthritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Work and sports related injuries
• Low back and/or neck strain
• Osteoarthritis
• “Frozen shoulder”, “tennis elbow”
• Sciatica

Respiratory System Conditions

• Acute sinusitis
• Acute rhinitis
• Common cold and allergies*
• Acute tonsillitis
• Acute bronchitis
• Bronchial asthma

Conditions of the Eye, Ear, Nose & Mouth

• Acute conjunctivitis
• Central retinitis
• Myopia (in children)
• Cataract (without complications)
• Toothaches, post extraction pain
• Gingivitis
• Acute and chronic pharyngitis

Gastrointestinal Conditions

• Spasms of esophagus and cardiac
• Irritable bowel and colitis
• Gastroptosis
• Acute and chronic gastritis
• Gastric hyperacidity (i.e. acid reflux)
• Chronic duodenal ulcer (pain relief)
• Acute duodenal ulcer (without complication)
• Acute and chronic colitis
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Acute bacillary dysentery
• Paralytic ileus

Gynecological Conditions

• Infertility
• PMS
• Dysmenorrhea
• Menopause syndrome
• Benign irregular menstruation
• Benign amenorrhea

Cardiovascular Conditions

• Essential hypertension

Other Conditions

• Withdrawal from street and pharmacological drugs
• Appetite suppression