Acupuncture

Acupuncture

Conditions
Evaluation
Treatment

Conditions

Acupuncture can assist individuals maintain good health and can be helpful in treating patients with a wide range of health problems. Acupuncture may be used alone or in combination with other complementary or conventional medicine treatments. If you are not sure whether acupuncture is an appropriate treatment for your condition, first schedule an integrative medicine consultation, where one of our specialists will go over the various services provided at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine and help you figure out what might best fit your needs.

Acupuncture can be used to treat a number of condition and health problems, including:

• Side Effects of Cancer Treatment -- Acupuncture can help ease the nausea associated with chemotherapy, increase the immune response, relieve pain and improve energy levels.

• Headache -- Acupuncture can help reduce the severity and frequency of chronic headaches, including tension headaches and migraines.

• Chronic Neck and Back Pain -- Acupuncture may be helpful in relieving chronic pain caused by spinal stenosis, disc herniation, spondolithesis, ankylosing spondylitis and scoliosis.

• Women's Reproductive Health Issues -- Acupuncture can be used to enhance fertility, relieve symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and minimize bothersome symptoms of menopause, including mood changes, hot flashes and insomnia.

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome -- Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disorder that causes a person to experience debilitating fatigue, including exhaustion and reduced stamina, neurological problems, and a variety of flu-like symptoms. Chinese medicine considers symptoms of fatigue and exhaustion as originating from weakened organs. Acupuncture may help to revive and stimulate the affected organs from their depleted states.

• Fibromyalgia -- Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder characterized by fatigue and widespread pain in the fibrous tissues of the muscles, ligaments and tendons. Acupuncture may help relieve the pain associated with this condition.

• Asthma -- Research in the past decade has shown that acupuncture can be very effective in alleviating the symptoms of respiratory diseases, including asthma. It may also reduce the frequency and intensity of asthma attacks.

• Sports Injuries -- Acupuncture can be used to treat various sports and repetitive stress injuries.

• Gastrointestinal Disorders -- Acupuncture may be helpful in relieving some of the discomfort caused by gastrointestinal disorders, including chronic liver disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and inflammatory bowel disease.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated May 10, 2007