The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted extensive clinical trials to prove the efficacy of acupuncture. Through these studies they have identified diseases, symptoms and conditions that can be effectively treated through acupuncture as well as those for which therapeutic effect of acupuncture was shown but needs more proof.
Conditions that have been proven to be effectively treated with acupuncture:
1. Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
2. Depression
3. Dysmenorrhoea
4. Gastritis
5. Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
6. Headache
7. Hypertension, essential
8. Hypotension, primary
9. Induction of labour
10. Knee pain
11. Leukopenia
12. Low back pain
13. Malposition of fetus
14. Morning sickness
15. Nausea and vomiting
16. Neck pain
17. Pain from dentistry (including dental pain and TMJ)
18. Periarthritis of shoulder
19. Postoperative pain
20. Rheumatoid arthritis
21. Sciatica
22. Side Effects of radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy
23. Sprain
24. Stroke
25. Tennis elbow
Conditions that receive a therapeutic effect from acupuncture:
1. Abdominal pain
2. Alcohol dependence and detoxification
3. Asthma
4. Bell’s palsy
5. Cancer pain
6. Cholecystitis
7. Competition stress syndrome
8. Craniocerebral injury, closed
9. Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent
10. Earache
11. Female infertility
12. Facial spasm
13. Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
14. Gouty arthritis
15. Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
16. Insomnia
17. Lactation, deficiency
18. Male sexual dysfunction
19. Ménière disease (Tinnitus)
20. Neurodermatitis
21. Obesity
22. Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
23. Osteoarthritis
24. Polycystic ovary syndrome
25. Premenstrual syndrome
26. Prostatitis, chronic
27. Pruritus
28. Raynaud syndrome, primary
29. Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection
30. Sjögren syndrome
31. Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
32. Spine pain, acute
33. Stiff neck
34. Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
35. Tobacco dependence
36. Tourette syndrome
37. Ulcerative colitis, chronic
38. Urolithiasis
