Traditional Acupuncture treats Fibromyalgia sufferers holistically and with respect. With presenting issues of widespread pain, muscle tension, fatigue, sleep disturbances, cognitive issues, stress, and hormonal issues. Treating you and how Fibromyalgia affects you, not just the symptoms.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia, also called fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body. In many cases, Fibromyalgia is connected to emotional upheaval, shock, trauma and stress – short-term or long-term. Fibromyalgia can be frustrating to get help with, as is quite misunderstood in Western medicine.
As well as widespread pain, other symptoms of fibromyalgia include:
Mood – feelings of frustration, anxiety,worry or low mood and stress
Pain – increased sensitivity to pain
Muscle stiffness – especially in the back and shoulders
Sleep – difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep, leading to exhaustion
Fatigue – relentless, exhaustion enhanced by pain
Fibro-Fog – problems with mental processes, such as difficulty concentrating or remembering things
Headaches – tension, throbing and persistant
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) digestive issues causing stomach pain, bloating and bowel problems
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) – this can be made worse, or as part of FMS
Hormonal Issues – PMS, Menopause – hormonal changes can affect FMS
How Acupuncture Helps Fibromyalgia
Pain Relief: Acupuncture may stimulate nerves, muscles, and connective tissue, boosting the body’s natural painkillers (endorphins).
Improved Sleep and Mood: having a positive affect serotonin and other neurotransmitters related to mood and sleep.
Reduced Fatigue: By potentially improving blood flow and reducing stress, some patients report less fatigue after sessions.
Traditional Five Element Acupuncture treats your whole system and each person individually, as Fibromyalgia affects each person to different degrees. Therefore, an effective way to treat your Body, Mind and Spirit that is affected and exhausted.
Chronic Primary Pain
Fibromyalgia falls into the category of Chronic Primary Pain. Chronic pain refers to pain that persists or recurs for more than three months. Chronic primary pain has no underlying condition to adequately account for the pain or its impact. However, you do need to be investigated to assess there is no other underlying cause.
The definitions of fibromyalgia and chronic primary pain are both from a biomedical understanding of illness. Traditional Five Element Acupuncture uses traditional theory and practice to assess all signs, symptoms and underlying causes to develop a treatment strategy for each person.
Individuals with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia are likely to receive different treatments in terms of the acupuncture points and moxibustion. Tailoring treatments for each individual.
Acupuncture for You
Acupuncture has been affective for thousands of years
There are so many reasons to come and have traditional acupuncture for your Fibromyalgia and general well-being, to find out more, and treatment contact Hannah Charles on; –https://www.southwellacupuncture.co.uk/contact/
Hannah Charles is Member of The British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC)
Hannah is a founder member of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC)
The BAcC is an advocate on behalf of Traditional Acupuncture professionals and maintains the highest professional standards to protect the general public. BAcC members belong to an accredited register, regulated and approved by the Professional Standards Authority for Health & Social Care (PSA). For More information, see the website – https://acupuncture.org.uk/
Research – benefits of acupuncture
Research investigating the benefits of acupuncture is increasing. In 1998, a systematic review analysed the data from nine clinical trials which included 377 patients [1]. Twenty years later in 2018, a systematic review by Vickers et al analysed the results of over 20,000 patients [2]. The Vickers et al review is arguably the most important investigation into the benefits of acupuncture that has been conducted to date. It has shown that acupuncture is effective in reducing pain for those with chronic pain: back, neck, shoulder, osteoarthritis, tension headaches and migraines. Moreover, it also shows that the benefits of acupuncture are not purely due to the placebo effect. In addition, the study also demonstrates that the benefits last for at least one year.
At present, clinical research indicates that there are benefits of acupuncture for fibromyalgia symptoms. Acupuncture reduces pain and improves wellbeing for those with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia when compared to sham procedures. The quality and size of clinical trials conducted to investigate the benefits of acupuncture for fibromyalgia is not as good as for conditions such as osteoarthritis. Therefore, further research needs to be conducted to evaluate whether acupuncture can also improve other symptoms such as insomnia, brain fog, fatigue, and irritable bowel syndrome for those with fibromyalgia.
Clinical evidence: systematic reviews
Effect of Acupuncture on Pain, Fatigue, Sleep, Physical Function, Stiffness, Well-Being, and Safety in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Zheng and Zhou 2022) [3]
This review analysed the data from 12 studies. All these studies, a total of 715 patients, measured the treatment effect on pain. Four studies, with 357 patients, examined wellbeing. In these studies, acupuncture was compared to sham acupuncture.
The authors concluded that ‘Moderate quality of evidence supports acupuncture in reducing pain in patients with fibromyalgia. Therefore, acupuncture is recommended as a treatment for fibromyalgia.’
When compared to sham:
- acupuncture alleviated pain SMD: -0.42, CI, -0.66, -0.17, P< 0.001
- improved well-being SMD: -0.86, CI, -1.49, -0.24, P< 0.007
Standardised Mean Difference (SMD) is a way of estimating the effect of a treatment compared to a control or comparison group. By convention, 0.2 is considered a small effect, 0.5 medium and 0.8 large. To give some perspective in the National Institute of Health Care Excellence (NICE) analysis of the evidence of pharmacological management for chronic primary pain (including fibromyalgia), when compared to placebo < 3 months the SMDs were as follows: anti-depressants -0.45; SSRI -0.41; tricyclic antidepressants -0.99, benzodiazepines -0.38 and NSAIDs -0.28 [2].
The Zheng and Zhou 2022 review also analysed the data measuring fatigue, sleep, physical function, and stiffness. Fewer studies measured these outcomes, in each comparison there were fewer than 300 patients. Although acupuncture was superior to sham in most of these comparisons the results were not statistically significant. This means the results could have been due to chance. More research will need to be done before definitive conclusions can be drawn.
Acupuncture therapy for fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (Zhang et al 2019) [4]
Like the Zheng and Zhou 2022 study above this review also included 12 studies. There is considerable crossover in the clinical trials analysed in these reviews. Zhang et al also showed that acupuncture was better at relieving pain than sham acupuncture. Similarly, Zhang et al indicates the acupuncture improves the quality of life when compared to sham.
Two of the studies included within this review compared the benefits of acupuncture for fibromyalgia compared to commonly used medications: amitriptyline, which is a tricyclic anti-depressant. These studies reported data on pain changes using a visual analogue scale (VAS) 0-10cm. This means that participants mark their pain at a point on a 10-centimetre line, where zero is ‘no pain’ and the 10 centimetre mark is ‘pain as bad as it could possibly be’.
Acupuncture was superior to amitriptyline by a mean difference -1.81 (-2.43,-1.18). So, a person whose pain reduced by 2 in the amitriptyline group ‘on average’ would have their pain reduced by 3.81 if they were in the acupuncture group.
Comparing Verum and Sham Acupuncture in Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Kim et al, 2019) [5]
This review analysed the data from eight randomised controlled trials. Many of the included studies are the same as those analysed in the systematic reviews described above. ‘Verum’ means real acupuncture (see Evidence analysis). In this review, as well as effects on pain and wellbeing, acupuncture was also shown to improve sleep quality.
The reviewers concluded: Verum acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture for pain relief, improving sleep quality, and reforming general status in FMS post treatment. However, evidence that it reduces fatigue was not found.
Clinical guidelines
NICE: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, U.K.
Chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s: assessment of all chronic pain and management of chronic primary pain. NICE guideline [NG193], 2021 [6]: recommends acupuncture for chronic primary pain, this includes fibromyalgia.
EULAR European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology
EULAR revised recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia [7]: recommends acupuncture for fibromyalgia.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US)
Non-invasive Nonpharmacological Treatment for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review Update 2020 [8]: recommends acupuncture for fibromyalgia.
TSPMR: The Turkish Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
The Turkish Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (TSPMR) guideline recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia syndrome [9]: recommends acupuncture for fibromyalgia.
Other evidence and reviews
- American College of Rheumatology (ACR) state that acupuncture may easy the symptoms of fibromyalgia.
- John Hopkins Medicine list fibromyalgia as one of the conditions for which studies have shown acupuncture is an effective treatment alone or in combination with conventional therapies to treat.
- An Egyptian Consensus evidence‑based clinical practice recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia includes acupuncture for fibromyalgia [10].
Acupuncture can help holistically with Fibromyalgia
