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Acupuncture may be a clinically effective and safe treatment for Parkinson's disease.
2020 Frontiers in Neurology Effectiveness of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease: An Overview of Systematic Reviews Huang J, Qin X, Cai X and Huang Y
Review Article Acupuncture Parkinson's Disease
In this study, a thorough search was done in eight different databases to find systematic reviews and meta-analyses that investigated the potential benefits of acupuncture for treating Parkinson's disease. The methodological quality of these collected reviews was assessed using the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 checklist, and the quality of the evidence provided by the reviews was evaluated with the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria.
Of the 11 reviews analysed, all were regarded as very low-quality studies on the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 checklist. However, despite the limited quality, these reviews provide a narrative analysis that suggests acupuncture may offer a safe and effective treatment for Parkinson's disease. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation scale categorized the evidence quality as very low to moderate. Despite the overall low evidence and methodological quality, it is highlighted that acupuncture may still hold potential as a treatment option for Parkinson's disease. It's also noted that the results should be interpreted with caution due to the low quality of the studies included.
Gua-sha has proved to be a relevant alternative for painful conditions involving the spine and the surroundings.
2019 Brazilian Journal of Pain Gua-sha: application and therapeutic results in musculoskeletal pain situations. Systematic review Dérrick Patrick Artioli; Gladson Ricardo Flor Bertolini
Systematic Review
Gua sha is a simple, inexpensive alternative with short-term effects for the treatment of conditions involving the spine and surrounding areas, such as a single intervention or in combination.
The analyzed studies, for the most part, showed superior results with Gua-sha compared to the counter-intervention group (control).
Despite methodological shortcomings, existing studies suggest acupuncture may improve symptoms related to Multiple Sclerosis including quality of life, fatigue, spasticity, and pain.
2014 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Acupuncture and Multiple Sclerosis: A Review of the Evidence H. I. Karpatkin et al.
Review Article Multiple Sclerosis
The study methodology includes a comprehensive literature search, locating twelve peer-reviewed articles that explored the use of acupuncture as a treatment for Multiple Sclerosis-related symptoms like quality of life, fatigue, spasticity, and pain. However, the majority of these studies had flaws in their design, including lack of control groups, randomization, or blinding procedures.
In relation to the discussion of results, although the retrieved studies indicated promising outcomes suggesting acupuncture's potential in enhancing Multiple Sclerosis-related symptoms, the lack of statistical rigor and poor design of these studies put a limitation on the conclusions that can be made about the effectiveness of this form of intervention.