Warm acupuncture could potentially decrease heightened sensitivity to cold, pain, and wind in fibromyalgia patients who are intolerant to cold.
The methodology of this preliminary study was a single-blinded, randomized, cross-over design, carried out over two 8-week cycles, observation and treatment. Initially, 38 patients suffering from fibromyalgia with high cold sensitivity were randomly divided into two groups: one for observation and the other for warm acupuncture treatment. After the first 8 weeks, the groups were switched. The primary measure evaluated was the change in cold sensitivity.
The findings highlight that warm acupuncture resulted in a significant reduction in cold sensitivity in the treatment period compared to the observation period. Comparatively, during the treatment phase, secondary measurements such as pain sensitivity, wind sensitivity, and overall fibromyalgia severity also showed notable improvements. The frequency of adverse events was minimal and insignificant, confirming the safety of warm acupuncture as a plausible treatment option for fibromyalgia with cold intolerance.
