Acupuncture is an ancient traditional Chinese medicine practice based on the theory that life energy (qi, or chi) flows through the body through invisible channels called meridians. Whenever any of these meridians becomes blocked, the flow of energy slows or stops, and the part of the body that is deprived of the energy flow suffers.
Acupuncture allows practitioners to access these meridians at certain points in the body where the channels are close to the skin by inserting very fine needles into the skin. There are hundreds of specific points along the more than one dozen meridians that traverse the body, and professional acupuncture therapists know which points should be accessed based on a person’s ailments or symptoms.
Acupuncture for Chronic Prostatitis
- In a study conducted at the University of Science in Malaysia, 89 men who had chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome were randomly assigned to receive 20 sessions of real or sham acupuncture over 10 weeks. After the 10 weeks, the men who had received the real acupuncture experienced a 6-point or greater decline in their National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index score (NIH-CPSI), compared with only 47 percent in the sham group. The men who received the real treatment also were 2.4 times more likely to enjoy sustained relief than those in the sham group. (Lee 2008)
- In another study, researchers evaluated the use of electroacupuncture for the condition. Electroacupuncture is acupuncture with a continuous ultra-low electrical current delivered along with the needle. A total of 36 men were randomized to three treatment groups: the 12 men in group 1 received advice and exercise plus 12 sessions of electroacupuncture; 12 men in group 2 received advice and exercise plus 12 sessions of sham electroacupuncture; and 12 men in group 3 received advice and exercise alone for 6 weeks. (Lee 2009) All 12 men in the electroacupuncture treatment group experienced at least a 6-point decrease in the NIH-CPSI total score compared with only 2 of 12 men in group 2 and 3 of 12 men in group 3. The conclusion was that electroacupuncture provided significant pain relief when compared with sham treatment, advice, and exercise.
- At Columbia University Medical Center in New York, researchers conducted a study of 10 men who had gotten no relief from other treatments for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. The men received full body and ear acupuncture treatment twice weekly for six weeks. The men reported less pain after three and six weeks of treatment and retained that measure of relief for an additional six weeks after treatment ended. (Capodice 2007)
Read more on acupuncture for chronic prostatitis/CPPS
What is Sham Acupuncture?
You might wonder how someone can receive sham (fake or false) acupuncture. After all, you know when you are getting stuck with a needle, so how can a practitioner fake it? Sham acupuncture involves inserting acupuncture needles in locations that are not the proper points for the condition being treated. Only a trained acupuncture therapist knows these points, and so all the patient knows is that he or she is getting stuck with a needle. Sham acupuncture serves as the placebo in a placebo-controlled acupuncture study.
See also
Acupuncture relieves hot flashes in prostate cancer patients
