A Chinese research group divided 154 patients between age 18-65 that complained about neck pain, including stiffness, tenderness, limited motion, and pain radiation, to receive six treatments of either abdominal acupuncture or sham abdominal acupuncture in two weeks.

Based on previous studies following acupuncture points were chosen for the group receiving treatment: Zhongwan REN-12, Guanyuan REN-4, bilateral Shangqu KID-17, and bilateral Huaroumen ST-24. Needles were inserted on the surface first and then needled deeper between 5-35 mm, with minimal rotation. The needles were kept for 30 minutes. Warmth was applied to the navel by an infrared lamp placed above the navel. The sham group was given treatment with non-acupuncture points that were 1 cun away from the points the treatment group received.

Even though both groups developed improvements, the treatment group reported more significant improvements in neck pain and general health measures at two weeks and six weeks from baseline. An additional observation reports continuous improvement of neck pain and general quality-of-life measures of the treatment group at week 14 from baseline. Abdominal acupuncture is therefore a successful alternative treatment for neck pain.

Ho, L.F. et al., 2017. Efficacy of abdominal acupuncture for neck pain: A randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE, 12(7).

Sammanställd av Susanne Stage, grupp 31