Impact of acupuncture on vasomotor rhinitis: a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic rhinitis without an allergic or infectious etiology (vasomotor rhinitis) is a common disease for which there are only few and not very effective therapeutic treatment options. The current placebo-controlled, partially double-blinded pilot study evaluated the effects of acupuncture on the symptoms of vasomotor rhinitis. DESIGN: A total of 24 patients with confirmed diagnosis of vasomotor rhinitis were randomly allocated to either acupuncture or sham laser acupuncture treatment. The sham laser was a deactivated laser pen beaming normal red light. The main outcome measure was the alteration of the nasal sickness score (NSS; score(max) 27 points). Secondary outcome measures were the evaluation of a subjective symptoms score by patients' diaries and of their quality of life (SF-12 health survey). A credibility assessment regarding the respective treatment was performed. The study is registered as an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial, number NCT00682162. RESULTS: NSS of patients treated by acupuncture was significantly reduced from 9.3 +/- 3.89 to 4.1 +/- 3.20 points (p < 0.001), whereas NSS declined from 5.6 +/- 2.74 to 3.7 +/- 2.61 points after sham treatment (p < 0.05). Comparison between the groups revealed a significant change of NSS (Mann-Whitney, p < 0.01), an analysis that also considers the significant difference between the baseline values of both groups (p < 0.05). Secondary outcome measures did not show significant differences between both groups. The credibility assessment was comparable for both treatments. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study showed significant effects of acupuncture compared to a sham treatment in the NSS on symptoms of vasomotor rhinitis. These results may justify the performance of a large randomized trial to strengthen our understanding of the therapeutic value of acupuncture in the treatment of vasomotor rhinitis.

Immediate effects of dry needling and acupuncture at distant points in chronic neck pain: results of a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled crossover trial.

To evaluate immediate effects of two different modes of acupuncture on motion-related pain and cervical spine mobility in chronic neck pain patients compared to a sham procedure. Thirty-six patients with chronic neck pain and limited cervical spine mobility participated in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled crossover trial. Every patient was treated once with needle acupuncture at distant points, dry needling (DN) of local myofascial trigger points and sham laser acupuncture (Sham). Outcome measures were motion-related pain intensity (visual analogue scale, 0-100 mm) and range of motion (ROM). In addition, patients scored changes of general complaints using an 11-point verbal rating scale. Patients were assessed immediately before and after each treatment by an independent (blinded) investigator. Multivariate analysis was used to assess the effects of true acupuncture and needle site independently. For motion-related pain, use of acupuncture at non-local points reduced pain scores by about a third (11.2 mm; 95% CI 5.7, 16.7; P = 0.00006) compared to DN and sham. DN led to an estimated reduction in pain of 1.0 mm (95% CI -4.5, 6.5; P = 0.7). Use of DN slightly improved ROM by 1.7 degrees (95% CI 0.2, 3.2; P = 0.032) with use of non-local points improving ROM by an additional 1.9 degrees (95% CI 0.3, 3.4; P = 0.016). For patient assessment of change, non-local acupuncture was significantly superior both to Sham (1.7 points; 95% CI 1.0, 2.5; P = 0.0001) and DN (1.5 points; 95% CI 0.4, 2.6; P = 0.008) but there was no difference between DN and Sham (0.1 point; 95% CI -1.0, 1.2; P = 0.8). Acupuncture is superior to Sham in improving motion-related pain and ROM following a single session of treatment in chronic neck pain patients. Acupuncture at distant points improves ROM more than DN; DN was ineffective for motion-related pain.