Treatment of cervical syndrome by acupuncture

Sixty patients suffering from the cervical syndrome were treated with acupuncture three times at one-week intervals. No electric stimulators were used. According to the physician's evaluation, 68% of the patients displayed good primary results (complete cure or moderate improvement). According to postal inquiries made 6 months after the last treatment session, 33% of the patients still reported moderate improvement or complete cure. No improvement was reported by 10 patients. The results are well in agreement with those obtained with physical therapy or B-vitamin treatment, suggesting that the improvement might be associated with the natural course of the disease. All controlled clinical acupuncture investigations have proved difficult to conduct due to the essential differences between acupuncture and any other form of treatment.