What is the evidence that acupuncture/Chinese medicine is cost effective?
The National Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Alliance gathered data from various studies involving acupuncture therapy and arrived at the following conclusions:
l Acupuncture treatment results in avoidance of surgery (based on subjects with knee osteoarthritis who were candidates for arthroplasty surgery – 1992).
l Acupuncture treatment results in decreased days in hospital or nursing home (based on stroke patients whose standard rehabilitative care was combined with acupuncture – 1994).
l Acupuncture treatment allows low-back pain patients to return to physical labor (based on worker’s compensation clinic patients whose standard physical therapy or occupational therapy was augmented with acupuncture – 1980).
l Acupuncture treatment results in avoidance of surgery, fewer hospital visits and greater return to employment (based on a study of 69 patients with severe angina pectoris – 1996).
