Incidence of prolonged pain relief following acupuncture

From March 1973 to Decenber 1974, 2090 electroacupuncture treatments were applied to 533 patients with chronic pain. Of 533 patients, 276 (52%) reported excellent (greater than 75%) pain relief immediately after the last treatment, and 103 (19.3%) still reported excellent pain relief on a 4-week followup questionnaire. In March 1975, the authors contacted 87 of these 103 patients. Sixty-three reported that they still had excellent pain relief 3 to 18 months after therapy, 3 patients reported that their pain still was relieved 50%, and 21 patients said their pain had returned to the same intensity as before therapy. Thus, 12% of 533 patients who received acupuncture treatment for chronic pain had a significant degree of pain relief at least 3 months after therapy.