Tentative Scope of Acupuncture Treatment
Modern medicine holds that acupuncture primarily functions to regulate bodily functions, enhancing immune system activity and thereby increasing resistance to disease. Additionally, acupuncture has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antispasmodic, anti-shock, and anti-paralytic effects.The World Health Organization, during a regional workshop, tentatively listed diseases treatable by acupuncture based on clinical experience rather than clinical controlled studies. Furthermore, the effectiveness of acupuncture for some listed conditions remains unconfirmed.Upper Respiratory Diseases: Acute sinusitis, acute rhinitis, common cold, acute tonsillitis.Respiratory System Diseases: Acute bronchitis, bronchial asthma (more effective in children and non-complicated cases).Ophthalmic Disorders: Acute conjunctivitis, central retinal inflammation, childhood myopia, cataracts without complications.Oral Disorders: Toothache, post-extraction pain, gingivitis, acute and chronic pharyngitis.Gastrointestinal Disorders: Esophageal and cardia spasm, hiccups, gastric ptosis, acute and chronic gastritis, excessive gastric acid secretion, chronic duodenal ulcer (pain relief), acute duodenal ulcer (without complications), acute and chronic colitis, bacillary dysentery, constipation, diarrhea, paralytic intestinal obstruction.Neurological/Muscular Disorders: Headaches and migraines, trigeminal neuralgia, facial paralysis (early stage, within 3–6 months), post-stroke paralysis, peripheral neuritis, sequelae of poliomyelitis (early stage, within 6 months), Meniere’s disease, neurogenic bladder dysfunction, enuresis, intercostal neuralgia, shoulder-neck syndrome, frozen shoulder (periarthritis humeroscapularis), tennis elbow, sciatica, lower back pain, osteoarthritis.