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Acupuncture for breast cancer drug pain - Journal of Chinese Medicine, Feb 2010 |
| Posted by Paula Hutchinson (paulahutchinson) on Tue Mar 09, 2010 at 11:08 AM |
A preliminary trial by an American team has found acupuncture to be a promising way of treating arthralgia in women receiving aromatase inhibitors (AIs) for breast cancer. Twelve patients were provided with electro-acupuncture (EA) twice a week for two weeks, followed by six weekly treatments. Acupuncture was based on the TCM diagnosis of bi syndrome, with electrostimulation of needles around the painful joints. From baseline to the end of intervention patients reported reductions in pain severity (from 5.3 to 1.9), stiffness (from 6.9 to 2.4), and joint symptom interference (from 4.7 to 0.8). They considered joint symptoms 'very much better' and also reported a significant decrease in fatigue (from 4.4 to 1.9) and anxiety (from 7.1 to 4.8). No infection or development/worsening of lymphoedema was observed. (Feasibility trial of electroacupuncture for aromatase inhibitor-related arthralgia in breast cancer survivors. Integr Cancer Ther. 2109 Jun;8(2):123-9).
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