Acupuncture
Acupuncture
What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture medicine is a complete model for health and disease developed thousands of years ago that continues to evolve today. Acupuncturists view the body as a whole, treating both the symptoms of disease and underlying imbalances.
Acupuncture is known for its use of thin needles to effect a change and support healing. An acupuncture visit may also include acupressure or massage, cupping, exercises, diet and lifestyle advice.
VA provides different types of acupuncture services. Comprehensive acupuncture treats the whole body, while ear acupuncture treats the body by using acupuncture points just in the ear.
How do I get started?
Ask your health care provider if acupuncture is right for you.
You can also reach out to your local Whole Health Point of Contact to learn more about complementary and integrative health care options availability.
How can acupuncture help you?
Acupuncture is helpful to support management of pain, headaches, mental health, and chronic health conditions. Acupuncture has been shown to reduce pain and inflammation, promote healing and calm the mind and body.
What can I expect during a session?
Before Treatment: The acupuncturist will ask about your medical history and symptoms. The acupuncturist may check your tongue and pulse.
Needle Insertion: During the session, you will either sit or lie down while thin, sterilized needles are placed at specific points on your body or ears. Most find acupuncture treatments comfortable and relaxing.
Evaluation: Acupuncture is provided in a series of treatments. It may take several visits to start to see the treatment helping. Some people notice a difference right away with their symptoms being relieved for a short period of time. This period may lengthen with additional treatments. If a person is not getting enough relief, they should talk to their VA care team for additional help. Acupuncture benefits can be enhanced by practicing active self care. Your acupuncturist may make suggestions for lifestyle changes, self-accupressure, or self-massage techniques or recommend well-being practices such as Tai Chi or Qigong.
Is acupuncture safe and effective?
Acupuncture is often associated with pain management, but it also may be useful for other conditions, and the body of literature for acupuncture effectiveness is growing. Acupuncture may be effective as a stand-alone treatment or as an adjunctive treatment to other medical interventions. An evidence map of acupuncture was developed by VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D) in 2022. This systematic review identified evidence of potentially positive effect for several pain conditions, including chronic pain and headaches, mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and PTSD, and wellness indicators such as insomnia.
Acupuncture is generally considered safe when practiced by appropriately trained acupuncture providers.
Policy and Research
Background and Policy in VA
Acupuncture is one of the complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches within the VHA Whole Health System of care included in VA Directive 1137 — Provision of Complementary and Integrative Health (recertified December 2022). This allows acupuncture care to be covered by the Veteran’s medical benefits package, when clinically necessary, as determined by the patient’s care team.
In February 2018, a Qualification Standard was published that permitted licensed acupuncturists to be hired to provide acupuncture care at VA Medical Centers (VAMC).
Highlighted Publications
Citation: Lu, L., Zhang, Y., Ge, S., Wen, H., Tang, X., Zeng, J. C., Wang, L., Zeng, Z., Rada, G., Ávila, C., Vergara, C., Chen, R., Dong, Y., Wei, X., Luo, W., Wang, L., Guyatt, G., Tang, C.-Z., & Xu, N.-G. (2022). Evidence mapping and overview of systematic reviews of the effects of acupuncture therapies. BMJ Open, 12(6), e056803.
Summary: This study provides an evidence map and overview of 120 systematic reviews on acupuncture therapies published between 2015 and 2020, covering 12 therapeutic areas and 77 diseases. The findings identify areas where acupuncture therapies show substantial benefits but may be underutilized, such as poststroke aphasia and myofascial pain, as well as promising areas requiring further research due to low certainty of evidence. The review highlights that while a vast amount of research exists, most included systematic reviews were of low or critically low methodological quality, emphasizing the need for more rigorous trials.
Citation: Rodrigues, J. M., Ventura, C., Abreu, M., Santos, C., Monte, J., Machado, J. P., & Santos, R. V. (2023). Electro-Acupuncture Effects Measured by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging—A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials. Healthcare, 12(1), 2.
Summary: This systematic review investigated the effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) using fMRI in randomized clinical trials, analyzing five studies across conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome. The review found that EA modulates brain activity and connectivity in regions related to pain perception, emotional regulation, and cognitive processing. While the studies generally showed good quality, the limited sample sizes emphasize the need for further research with larger cohorts and longer-term assessments to optimize EA protocols and better understand its mechanisms.
Citation: Mao, J. J., Liou, K. T., Baser, R. E., Bao, T., Panageas, K. S., Romero, S. A. D., Li, Q. S., Gallagher, R. M., & Kantoff, P. W. (2021). Effectiveness of Electroacupuncture or Auricular Acupuncture vs Usual Care for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Among Cancer Survivors: The PEACE Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncology, 7(5), 720–727.
Summary: This randomized clinical trial investigated the effectiveness of electroacupuncture and auricular acupuncture against usual care for chronic musculoskeletal pain in cancer survivors. Both electroacupuncture and auricular acupuncture significantly reduced pain severity from baseline to week 12 compared to usual care. However, auricular acupuncture did not demonstrate noninferiority to electroacupuncture and was associated with a higher rate of adverse events, primarily ear pain.
Learn more
Learn more about other complementary and integrative health care options by visiting the Complementary and Integrative Health overview page or clicking the links below.
