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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 20, 2026

A Mechanical Construction to Enhance the Stability and Safety of Lifting and Thrusting Manipulation of Acupuncture
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A Mechanical Construction to Enhance the Stability and Safety of Lifting and Thrusting Manipulation of Acupuncture

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Developing and validating a sham acupuncture needle.

Elizabeth A Tough1, Adrian R White, Suzanne H Richards

  • 1Peninsula Medical School, University of Exeter and Plymouth, UK. elizabeth.tough@nhs.net

Acupuncture in Medicine : Journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society
|September 8, 2009
PubMed
Summary

A developed sham needle effectively served as a credible control in a pilot study for acupuncture, supporting its use in future randomized controlled trials for whiplash pain.

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Area of Science:

  • Pain Management
  • Clinical Trial Methodology
  • Integrative Medicine

Background:

  • Myofascial trigger point needling shows promise for whiplash-associated pain.
  • Effective control interventions are crucial for rigorous randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
  • A credible sham acupuncture control is needed to evaluate true acupuncture efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and assess the credibility of a sham needle device.
  • To evaluate the sham needle as a control in an RCT for whiplash-associated pain.
  • To determine if patients could distinguish between true and sham acupuncture.

Main Methods:

  • Developed blunted sham acupuncture needles.
  • Randomly assigned whiplash patients (<16 weeks duration) to true or sham acupuncture.

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Three-Dimensional Finger Motion Tracking during Needling: A Solution for the Kinematic Analysis of Acupuncture Manipulation
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Last Updated: Jun 20, 2026

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07:29

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Published on: January 10, 2025

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Three-Dimensional Finger Motion Tracking during Needling: A Solution for the Kinematic Analysis of Acupuncture Manipulation
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  • Assessed patient treatment belief and credibility using the Borkovec and Nau scale.

    • Main Results:

    • No significant difference in treatment beliefs between true and sham acupuncture groups (p>0.2).
    • No significant difference in credibility scale scores between groups (p values 0.38–0.87).
    • Patients with prior acupuncture experience in the sham group did not identify receiving the sham intervention.

    Conclusions:

    • The developed sham acupuncture intervention demonstrated credibility as a control in this pilot study.
    • The findings support the use of this sham needle in definitive RCTs for whiplash.
    • This validates the sham needle as an appropriate placebo control for acupuncture research.