Abstract
As one of the most important complementary and alternative modalities, acupuncture has been used worldwide in pain relief at bedside. Substantial and accumulating clinical evidences show that acupuncture produces analgesic effects in various acute/chronic pain conditions. In this chapter, we will summarize the clinical research of acupuncture-induced analgesic effects on various pain disorders, especially headaches, chronic low back pain, knee osteoarthritis, chronic neck pain, neuropathic pain, motor system injuries, fibromyalgia, cancer pain, dental pain, and phantom limb pain. Furthermore, the clinical designs and acupuncture approaches for pain relief will also be discussed in terms of appropriate use of acupuncture. Finally, we will briefly comment on several problematic issues in acupuncture studies, and present a prospective view in terms of future research to improve the clinical application of acupuncture to make it more beneficial to patients.
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Maoying, Q., Mi, W. (2010). Acupuncture Analgesia in Clinical Practice. In: Xia, Y., Cao, X., Wu, G., Cheng, J. (eds) Acupuncture Therapy for Neurological Diseases. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-10857-0_7
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