Computer electroacupuncture: rationale for the use in the treatment of painful form of irritable bowel syndrome

In a prospective clinical trial, we have compared the effectiveness of the computerized electroacupuncture (CEAP) added to thestandard pharmacological therapy of the patients with painful form of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)in the main group against its isolated pharmacological therapy in the control group. The study involved 80 volunteerswhich were previously randomly divided to the 2 equal groups due to the type of treatment. Patients in the main group received three courses of CEAP. Each CEAP course contained the five everyday sessions, the interruption period between courses was one month. The inclusion of CEAP to the complex therapy of the painful IBS was accompanied with decreasingof the pain severity to 42%, byVisual Pain Scale. The patients' subjective condition indicators were significantly improved: the levels of depression (according to the Zung test), actual and personal anxiety (according to the Spiberger-Khanin questionnaire) were decreased, the parameters assessed using the SAN questionnaire were increased. Key words: acupuncture, computer electroacupuncture, irritable bowel syndrome, pain treatment, reflexology.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Is It Alternative or Mainstream for Managing Low Back Pain?

Although long an integral part of the health systems of societies all around the globe, the role of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Western medicine has become better defined over the past few years, especially in multidisciplinary pain management. Many patients have expressed dissatisfaction at conventional treatments of therapy, medications, and procedures. Often they have sought adjunctive treatments to make up for deficits in efficacy and to minimize unwanted side effects. CAM has been a source to fill the void. Additionally, physical modalities that promote the mind-body connection in pain states have emerged in common practice. Of the physical modalities helpful in the concurrent management of pain, yoga has emerged as one of the most effective options. The medical literature has identified acupuncture as efficacious and safe and determined that it may have benefit as a sole therapy or in conjunction with traditional interventions. Although nutraceuticals and marijuana have received lay press exposure and interest, as pain therapeutics, the mechanism of action of these agents needs to be more precisely elucidated and regulatory bodies need to ensure quality control and dosage safety in society. This review contains 4 figures, 1 table and 118 references Key Words: acupuncture, lower back pain (LBP), medical marijuana, nutraceuticals, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Is It Alternative or Mainstream for Managing Low Back Pain?

Although long an integral part of the health systems of societies all around the globe, the role of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Western medicine has become better defined over the past few years, especially in multidisciplinary pain management. Many patients have expressed dissatisfaction at conventional treatments of therapy, medications, and procedures. Often they have sought adjunctive treatments to make up for deficits in efficacy and to minimize unwanted side effects. CAM has been a source to fill the void. Additionally, physical modalities that promote the mind-body connection in pain states have emerged in common practice. Of the physical modalities helpful in the concurrent management of pain, yoga has emerged as one of the most effective options. The medical literature has identified acupuncture as efficacious and safe and determined that it may have benefit as a sole therapy or in conjunction with traditional interventions. Although nutraceuticals and marijuana have received lay press exposure and interest, as pain therapeutics, the mechanism of action of these agents needs to be more precisely elucidated and regulatory bodies need to ensure quality control and dosage safety in society. This review contains 4 figures, 1 table and 118 references Key Words: acupuncture, lower back pain (LBP), medical marijuana, nutraceuticals, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)