Challenges with Acupuncture Research

While thousands of research studies have been done on acupuncture, the research methodology quality and clinical quality of those studies vary greatly. The Acupuncture Now Foundation is trying to raise awareness of some of these problems especially in the so-called "sham acupuncture" controlled trials. ANF President, Matthew Bauer, will be speaking at the 2nd International Symposium on Acupuncture Research in Bologna, Italy October 20-21 to raise awareness of this issue. We will be adding more to this website page in the next few weeks about these problems so check back or sign up for our email list (see the bottom of this page) for more information and updates. For now,  please read the two papers below to better understand why the main problem with acupuncture research has so much to do with the "real acupuncture"  in addition to the problems with the "sham".  
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The Lack of Clinical Quality Guidelines Causes Underestimation of Efficacy in Sham Controlled Acupuncture Trials 

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Putting Acupuncture Research into Perspective