References

Here at Evolve Integrative Health, we are always keeping updated with most current researches to provide most up-to-date treatment modalities/options for patients with various health conditions.  One of the latest and great news is that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently finalized a decision to cover acupuncture for Medicare patients with chronic low back pain. 

The decision regarding coverage takes into account an assessment of benefits and harms and the opioid public health crisis.  While a small number of adults 65 years of age or older have been enrolled in published acupuncture studies, patients with chronic low back pain in these studies showed improvements in function and pain with acupuncture treatment.  The evidence reviewed for this decision supports clinical strategies that include nonpharmacologic therapies for chronic low back pain.

This is a great news as acupuncture/eastern medicine is progressively more recognized as evidence-based treatment option for acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain condition.     

Stay tuned for additional updates.

Click here to read more about final decision by CMS.

Additional References

While most people have a general understanding of how conventional allopathic medicine works (aka Western medicine), the concepts and terminology used in holistic Eastern medicine is often confusing and foreign to many people.

At Evolve, we aim to translate and bridge the gap between the two branches of medicine so that the information is relevant to your needs. The information contained in this website embodies the basic principles of Eastern medicine with scientific literature to support them. We strive to continually evolve to integrate the two fields so that our patients are informed to make the best decisions when it comes to their health and well-being.

Acupuncture References:

1. Kovacs FM, Gotzens V, García A, et al. Acupuncture and radioactive pathways of hypodermically injected technetium-99m. J Nucl Med. 1992 Nov;33(11):2060.
2. da Silva MD, Bobinski F, Sato KL. IL-10 Cytokine Released from M2 Macrophages Is Crucial for Analgesic and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Acupuncture in a Model of Inflammatory Muscle Pain. Mol Neurobiol. 2014 Jun 25
3. Lin D, De La Pena I, Lin L, et al. The neuroprotective role of acupuncture and activation of the BDNF signaling pathway. Int J Mol Sci. 2014 Feb 21;15(2):3234-52
4. Furlan AD, et al. (2005). Acupuncture and dry-needling for low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (1).
5. Vickers AJ, et al. (2004). Acupuncture for chronic headache in primary care: Large, pragmatic, randomised trial. BMJ, 328(7442): 744–749.
6. Berman BM, et al. (2004). Effectiveness of acupuncture as adjunctive therapy in osteoarthritis of the knee. Annals of Internal Medicine, 141(12): 901–910.
7. Wu LL, Su CH, Liu CF. Effects of noninvasive electroacupuncture at Hegu (LI4) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) acupoints on dysmenorrhea: a randomized controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2012 Feb;18(2):137-42.
8. Johnston MF, Ortiz Sánchez E, Vujanovic NL, Li W. Acupuncture May Stimulate Anticancer Immunity via Activation of Natural Killer Cells. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011
9. Yang JL, Chen JS, Yang YF, et al. Neuroprotection effects of retained acupuncture in neurotoxin-induced Parkinson’s disease mice. Brain Behav Immun. 2011 Oct;25(7):1452-9
10. Hsiu H, Huang SM, Chen CT, et al. Acupuncture stimulation causes bilaterally different microcirculatory effects in stroke patients. Microvasc Res. 2011 May;81(3):289-94
11. Molassiotis A1, Sylt P, Diggins H. The management of cancer-related fatigue after chemotherapy with acupuncture and acupressure: a randomised controlled trial. Complement Ther Med. 2007 Dec;15(4):228-37
12. Pfab F, Schalock PC, Napadow V, et al. Acupuncture for allergic disease therapy–the current state of evidence. Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2014 Jul;10(7):831-41