The list of the conditions responsive to acupuncture is rather extensive according to WHO’s guideline. It includes condition disease processes, for which effective therapy in modern medicine exists, e.g. acute tonsillitis, acute conjunctivitis etc. I do not treat those problems with acupuncture. In fact, because of my training and expertise in internal medicine, I am able to sort out the problems for which modern medicine offers excellent therapy and those for which it does not. I have varying degree of successes with all of the following. The items highlighted in red are highly responsive to acupuncture. The italicized items in green represent problems which have a very good chance of improvement. Others have responded, but the number of patients with those conditions are limited, so a firm conclusion could not be established.

1. Nausea 2. Paralytic ileus: A common condition, especially after surgery, where the intestine does not move in a physiological fashion leading to abdominal distention, nausea, no bowel movements. This is a frequent cause of prolonged hospital stay after surgery. 1. Allergic Sinusitis 2. Asthma 1. Migraine: I find this to be the most responsive condition to acupuncture. 2. Sciaticas 3. Trigeminal neuralgia 4. Post herpetic neuralgia 1. Renal colic 2. Incomplete voiding 3. Urinary incontinence 1. Problem related to acute injury including Motor vehicle accident related injuries as well as sports injuries- joint sprains, muscle pain, whiplash etc. . The pain relief and healing is faster than the conventional treatment. Of course, bony injuries, joint dislocations need to be treated in the traditional manner. 2. Pain syndromes including myofascial pain, including neck, shoulder girdle pain. 3. Low back pain including patients whose pain did not resolve after back surgery. Obviously, acupuncture becomes less effective if the patient has multiple surgeries. 4. Tennis elbow. 5. Osteoarthritis of the knees. 6. Carpal tunnel syndrome. 1. Fatigue

Others: There are many other conditions for which Acupuncture is beneficial. Recently there have been articles in JAMA, and the Annals of Internal Medicine, both main stream medical journals, about the efficacy of acupuncture in chronic back pain and osteoarthritis. Research is yielding scientific information as to the mechanism of action of acupuncture as well as identifying new applications in problems ranging from arthritis and cancer to stroke rehabilitation.

Recently acupuncture is reported to be surprisingly effective in Macular Degeneration (MD).

     There are examples of many other patients, with problems for which there are no known therapy, who improved with acupuncture. These included:

• A patient with long standing tinnitus (humming noise in the ears) of 20 years duration has improved.

• A lady with balancing problem secondary to stroke gets significant relief from acupuncture.

• A lady with swallowing difficulty, underwent exhaustive investigations and was seen by multiple specialists, the conclusion was that she was probably suffering from an obscure neuromuscular dysfunction, she was given a poor prognosis and failed to respond to the conventional therapy. After five acupuncture treatments her problem has completely resolved and she has remained symptom free for months.

• A lady with weight loss and persistent diarrhea also underwent complete investigations but no diagnosis was established by the gastroenterologists for 2 years, responded to 4 acupuncture treatment, and no longer has any of the symptoms for more than 2 years.

• A lady came to me for urinary retention. She had been catheterizing 2-3 times daily for 4 years. She had prior urological consultation and investigation, and was on Bethanecol without any benefit. She was sent for another consultation. The urologist agreed with the opinion of the previous urologists and felt that she was treated appropriately. She was asked to continue daily catheterization (2-3 times/day). She was having pain and swelling of the urethral region from repeated catheterization. She responded to the first acupuncture treatment, and has been able to void without catheterization since then. She was given a total of 4 acupuncture treatments.

• A patient with Parkinsonism comes regularly because she feels better symptomatically.

• A patient with history of pain in the knee, of uncertain etiology, for 40 years was cured.

Special Note