Six treatment overviews and eight selected studies. Findings depend on who was studied and which treatment was used for comparison.
Check service descriptions, the actual clinician, eligibility and research in that order. Counts below describe collection coverage in the current 126-provider directory.
Ask which acupuncture method is offered and which symptoms and measures will be used to track progress.
Kyung Hee Neulsaeng Korean Medicine Clinic · Kyung Hee Meerae Korean Medicine Clinic · Misa
Listing order and paper counts are not quality rankings or evidence grades.
Ask who performs the treatment, whether clinician gender can be selected, their schedule, consent process and cost.
Kyung Hee Neulsaeng Korean Medicine Clinic · Kyung Hee Meerae Korean Medicine Clinic · Misa · Maxim Korean Medicine Clinic · Tiger Bubu Korean Medicine Clinic
Listing order and paper counts are not quality rankings or evidence grades.
Ask about formulation, ingredients, duration, concurrent medicines, dispensing location and cost.
Kyung Hee Neulsaeng Korean Medicine Clinic · Kyung Hee Meerae Korean Medicine Clinic · Misa · Maxim Korean Medicine Clinic · Tiger Bubu Korean Medicine Clinic
Listing order and paper counts are not quality rankings or evidence grades.
Ask about the preparation and ingredients, whether bee venom is involved, dispensing information, prior reactions and adverse-event procedures.
Kyung Hee Neulsaeng Korean Medicine Clinic · Kyung Hee Meerae Korean Medicine Clinic · Misa · Maxim Korean Medicine Clinic
Listing order and paper counts are not quality rankings or evidence grades.
Discuss medicines, pregnancy and previous reactions with your clinician. These editorial questions support preparation for a visit and are not diagnostic or treatment instructions.
Fine needles stimulate specific points on the body. Findings can differ between manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture.
Sterile, single-use needles and appropriate practice matter. Bleeding, infection and other complications can occur.
Source ↗A practitioner uses hands or supporting equipment to mobilize the body. Read evidence for the particular condition studied.
Findings in chronic neck pain cannot be generalized to every spinal disorder or patient.
Source ↗Formulas and preparations vary. Assess evidence by the specific formula, ingredients, dose and condition.
Tell your clinician about other medicines, liver or kidney disease, and pregnancy. Natural does not automatically mean safe.
Source ↗Injection of a preparation at selected sites. Ingredients and techniques vary; ultrasound-guided findings do not apply to all injections.
Ask about the ingredients, intended benefit, adverse reactions and alternatives.
Source ↗Treatment using heat stimulation. Direct, indirect and electronic methods have different evidence and risks.
Consider burns and other adverse events, and whether studies reported them adequately.
Source ↗Cups create negative pressure. Dry cupping and wet cupping, which involves skin puncture, should be considered separately.
Persistent skin discoloration, burns and infection can occur. Procedures involving bleeding carry additional risks.
Source ↗Expand a study to read its population, comparator and limitations.
Between-group differences were about 0.5 standard deviations versus no acupuncture and 0.2 versus sham. The comparator affects the apparent size of the benefit.
Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis
The Journal of Pain (2018) · DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2017.11.005
Versus usual care, the immediate pain difference was about 10.3 points on a 100-point scale, which the review judged not clinically important.
Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2020) · DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013814
The review compared acupuncture with different controls for migraine prevention, focusing on the frequency of attacks.
Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2016) · DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001218.pub3
At 5 weeks, the difference in pain improvement favored Chuna by 16.8 mm on a 100-mm scale (95% CI 10.1–23.5).
Chuna Manual Therapy vs Usual Care for Patients With Nonspecific Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial
JAMA Network Open (2021) · DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13757
The authors found insufficient evidence to determine whether acupuncture or acupressure is effective. Certainty was low or very low across comparisons.
Acupuncture for dysmenorrhoea
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2016) · DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007854.pub3
Improvements in pain and function-related measures were reported. Sixteen studies reported adverse events, including one serious adverse event.
Efficacy and safety of moxibustion for knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice (2025) · DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2025.101979
Some pain and function outcomes favored ultrasound-guided treatment. The authors called for larger, higher-quality randomized trials.
Efficacy of ultrasound-guided pharmacopuncture: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Medicine (2025) · DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000041733
Some pain outcomes improved, but the evidence was rated low or very low quality.
Update evidence of effectiveness on pain relieving of cupping therapy: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2025) · DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2025.02.002
Discuss your medicines, pregnancy and previous reactions with your clinician, along with likely benefits, risks and alternatives.