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What the research says about acupuncture
A plain-language guide to published studies on acupuncture and herbal medicine, grouped by health concern. For each topic we explain what was studied, what researchers found and what to keep in mind.
This is not a complete review of the literature, and acupuncture is not a guaranteed cure for any condition listed. Some studies support its use and others don't. We share both.
Many studies conclude that more research is needed, and we agree. We welcome continued study of how acupuncture can support health.
The studies included below are focused on those concerns we hear about most at the clinic.
How to read this page
Several larger, well-designed trials or reviews, including comparisons with placebo ("sham") acupuncture.
Positive results, but trials are smaller, fewer or of mixed quality. More research needed
Early-stage, animal or lab research, or studies that disagree. Treat as a starting point only
Category
Pain & injury
The most researched area for acupuncture, with the largest and most rigorous trials.
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In short: Large trials and pooled analyses find acupuncture eases chronic back pain more than usual care, and modestly more than sham acupuncture.
Acupuncture for chronic low back pain in older adults
DeBar et al. · JAMA Network Open · 2025Studied: Older adults with chronic low back pain, randomly assigned to acupuncture plus usual medical care, or usual care alone.
Found: The acupuncture groups had greater improvement in back-pain-related function at 6 and 12 months, with a low risk of side effects.
Read the study →Review of complementary approaches for pain
Nahin et al. · Mayo Clinic Proceedings · 2016 · co-authored by U.S. National Institutes of Health researchersStudied: Published trials of complementary approaches for common pain conditions in U.S. adults.
Found; Acupuncture was among the approaches with the strongest evidence for back pain.
Read the summary → -
In short: A large 2024 trial found real acupuncture roughly doubled the drop in leg pain compared with sham acupuncture, and the benefit lasted a year.
Acupuncture vs sham acupuncture for chronic sciatica from a herniated disc
Tu et al. · JAMA Internal Medicine · 2024
Studied: 216 people with long-term sciatica (average 3 years) had 10 sessions of real or sham acupuncture over 4 weeks.
Found: Leg pain dropped about 31 points (out of 100) with acupuncture versus about 15 with sham. Disability scores also improved more, and differences lasted to 52 weeks.
Keep in mind: Done in six hospitals in China, in people with disc-related sciatica only. Minor bleeding at needle sites was more common with real acupuncture.
Read the study →The effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for sciatica: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Complementary Therapies in Medicine · 2022
Found: Acupuncture was more effective than painkillers for sciatica and was safe.
Keep in mind: The authors call for more rigorously designed studies.
Read the study → -
In short: Pooled data from nearly 21,000 patients show acupuncture outperforms both sham and no acupuncture for chronic musculoskeletal pain, including neck and shoulder pain.
Acupuncture for chronic pain: update of an individual patient data meta-analysis
Vickers et al. · Journal of Pain · 2018
Studied: Raw data from 39 trials and 20,827 patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache or shoulder pain.
Found: Acupuncture beat sham and no acupuncture for every pain type. About 85% of the benefit remained at one year.
Keep in mind: The difference over sham acupuncture was smaller than the difference over no acupuncture.
Read the study →Long-term effects of individualized acupuncture for chronic neck pain
Annals of Internal Medicine · 2024
Found: Individualized acupuncture reduced chronic neck pain more than sham acupuncture or a waiting list, through 24 weeks.
Keep in mind: The size of the improvement over controls did not reach the threshold researchers consider clinically important.
Read the study → -
In short: Rated among the best-supported complementary options for knee arthritis pain.
Review of complementary approaches for pain
Nahin et al. · Mayo Clinic Proceedings · 2016
Found: Acupuncture had good evidence for knee osteoarthritis pain.
Read the summary →Acupuncture for chronic pain: individual patient data meta-analysis
Vickers et al. · Journal of Pain · 2018
Found: For osteoarthritis pain, acupuncture outperformed both sham and no acupuncture.
Read the study →Item description -
In short: Reviews find short-term pain relief, especially for jaw-muscle pain. Trials are small.
Acupuncture and laser acupuncture for temporomandibular disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis
Di Francesco et al. · BMC Oral Health · 2024
Studied: 11 randomized trials.
Found: Acupuncture reduced the severity of jaw pain of muscle origin in the short term.
Keep in mind: The authors say more rigorous studies are needed.
Read the study →Effect of acupuncture for temporomandibular disorders: a randomized clinical trial
QJM · 2024
Studied: 60 people with TMD had acupuncture or sham acupuncture three times a week for 4 weeks.
Found: Acupuncture gave marked pain relief and improved physical and emotional function compared with sham.
Read the study → -
In short: A 2025 clinical guideline found acupuncture reduced pain more than sham acupuncture.
Guidelines on treating fibromyalgia with nonpharmacological therapies in China
Li et al. · Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine · 2025
Found: The guideline recommends acupuncture, finding it superior to sham acupuncture for pain and patient outcomes.
Keep in mind: A national guideline from China. North American guidelines may differ.
Read the guideline → -
In short: Real and sham acupuncture both eased symptoms, but only real acupuncture improved nerve function measures.
Rewiring the primary somatosensory cortex in carpal tunnel syndrome with acupuncture
Maeda et al. · Brain · 2017 · Harvard / Massachusetts General Hospital
Studied: 80 people with carpal tunnel syndrome had real electro-acupuncture at the wrist, at the opposite ankle, or sham acupuncture.
Found: All groups reported fewer symptoms. Real acupuncture also improved nerve conduction and brain mapping of the fingers.
Read the study →
Category
Headaches & migraines
Two Cochrane reviews, the gold standard of evidence summaries, cover acupuncture for headache prevention.
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In short: Acupuncture reduced how often migraines happen, and in head-to-head trials it did at least as well as preventive drugs during treatment.
Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine
Linde et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2016
Studied: 22 trials with 4,985 people.
Found: A moderate reduction in migraine frequency compared with no acupuncture, and a small reduction compared with sham. Compared with preventive drugs, acupuncture did better after treatment, though not significantly at later follow-up.
Keep in mind: Few studies lasted longer than a year.
Read the review → -
In short: About half of people having acupuncture had their headache days cut in half or more.
Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache
Linde et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2016
Studied: 12 trials with 2,349 people with frequent tension-type headache.
Found: In two large trials, about 48 in 100 people having acupuncture had their headache frequency at least halved, compared with 17 in 100 with usual care. Against sham, the figures were 51% versus 43%.
Keep in mind: The reviewers suggest a course of at least six sessions.
Read the review →
Category
Women’s health
Menopause, pregnancy and fertility, including where the evidence does not show a benefit.
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In short: A Danish trial found five weekly sessions noticeably reduced hot flashes, with changes by week 3.
A standardised acupuncture approach for women with bothersome menopausal symptoms (ACOM study)
Lund et al. · BMJ Open · 2019
Studied: 70 women with moderate-to-severe menopause symptoms in Danish family-doctor practices. Half had five weekly sessions; half waited 6 weeks.
Found: Hot flashes dropped significantly, and emotional, skin and hair symptoms also improved. No serious side effects.
Keep in mind: There was no sham-acupuncture group, so some of the effect may come from expectation.
Read the study → -
In short: Pooled studies found acupuncture significantly relieved low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy.
Acupuncture for low back and pelvic pain in pregnancy: pooled data analysis
BMJ Open · 2021
Found: Significant pain relief, with no major side effects observed in newborns.
Keep in mind: Only a few of the included studies looked at outcomes such as premature birth.
Read the summary → -
In short: The largest trial found acupuncture did not raise IVF birth rates. It may modestly reduce anxiety during IVF.
Effect of acupuncture vs sham acupuncture on live births among women undergoing IVF
Smith et al. · JAMA · 2018
Studied: 848 women in Australia and New Zealand.
Found: Live birth rates were 18.3% with acupuncture and 17.8% with sham, no meaningful difference. Some women reported feeling more relaxed and less stressed.
Read the summary →Effect of acupuncture on IVF-related anxiety: a systematic review
Hullender Rubin, Smith et al. · 2022
Studied: 8 trials with 2,253 people.
Found: A small reduction in anxiety during IVF.
Keep in mind: The certainty of this evidence is very low.
Read the study →
Category
Men’s & bladder health
Two large sham-controlled trials published in leading medical journals.
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In short: 61% of men improved meaningfully with acupuncture versus 37% with sham, and the gap held for 6 months after treatment.
Efficacy of acupuncture for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome
Sun et al. · Annals of Internal Medicine · 2021
Studied: 440 men with moderate-to-severe symptoms at 10 hospitals in China had 20 sessions of real or sham acupuncture over 8 weeks.
Found: At week 8, 60.6% responded to acupuncture versus 36.8% to sham. At week 32, 61.5% versus 38.3%. No serious side effects.
Read the study → -
In short: Six weeks of electro-acupuncture reduced leakage far more than sham treatment.
Effect of electroacupuncture on urinary leakage among women with stress urinary incontinence
Liu et al. · JAMA · 2017
Studied: 504 women at 12 hospitals in China had 18 sessions of electro-acupuncture or sham over 6 weeks.
Found: Leakage on a 1-hour pad test fell by 9.9 g with electro-acupuncture versus 2.6 g with sham. Side effects were rare and mild.
Keep in mind: Long-term effects still need study.
Read the summary →
Category
Sleep, mood & mind
A growing area of research, with mostly positive but smaller trials.
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In short: Several sham-controlled trials found acupuncture improved sleep quality.
Effect of electroacupuncture on insomnia in patients with depression
Yin et al. · JAMA Network Open · 2022
Studied: 270 adults with depression and insomnia had electro-acupuncture, sham acupuncture or standard care alone for 8 weeks.
Found: Sleep quality improved more with electro-acupuncture, and depression and anxiety scores improved too.
Keep in mind: Blinding was only partly successful.
Read the study →Efficacy and safety of acupuncture on primary insomnia: a randomized controlled trial
Sleep Medicine · 2017
Found: Acupuncture was more effective than sham at improving sleep quality and psychological health.
Read the study →Efficacy and safety of scalp acupuncture for insomnia: systematic review and meta-analysis
2021
Found: Scalp acupuncture worked better than drugs or no treatment, and about as well as other acupuncture methods.
Keep in mind: The quality of included studies may have affected results.
Read the study → -
In short: A review of 20 trials found acupuncture reduced anxiety symptoms, with few side effects.
Effectiveness of acupuncture on anxiety disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis
Yang et al. · Annals of General Psychiatry · 2021
Studied: 20 randomized trials.
Found: Acupuncture reduced anxiety symptoms more than control treatments and was well tolerated.
Keep in mind: Most trials were in China, and the authors call for more high-quality studies.
Read the study → -
In short: A Cochrane review of 64 trials found acupuncture may reduce depression severity compared with usual care.
Acupuncture for depression
Smith et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2018
Studied: 64 trials with 7,104 people.
Found: Acupuncture may reduce depression severity compared with no treatment or usual care. The benefit over sham acupuncture was small.
Keep in mind: Acupuncture is not a replacement for care from your doctor or mental health professional.
Read the review → -
In short: Some benefits for thinking and daily function have been reported, but results are inconsistent.
Effects of acupuncture on dementia: a systematic review
Ma et al. · 2021
Found: Some benefits were observed, but results were inconsistent across studies.
Read the study →Auricular (ear) acupuncture for cognitive impairment
Kwon et al. · 2018
Found: Ear acupuncture may improve thinking and daily activities in people with dementia.
Keep in mind: Larger trials are needed.
Read the study → -
In short: Research on cravings and withdrawal is promising but mixed. Ear and laser acupuncture are the most studied.
Laser auricular acupuncture for tobacco smoking cessation: a systematic review
Akram et al. · Medical Acupuncture · 2024
Found: Laser ear acupuncture reduced tobacco dependence, especially combined with behavioural therapy.
Read the study →Role of the hypothalamus in acupuncture's effects
Bae et al. · Brain Sciences · 2025
Found: A review of how acupuncture may influence brain areas linked to reward and stress.
Keep in mind: This explores how acupuncture might work. It does not test treatment results in patients.
Read the study →
Category
Digestion & metabolism
Encouraging results, with some studies pointing in different directions.
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In short: One large trial found acupuncture beat standard IBS medications. An earlier trial found it no better than sham.
Effect of acupuncture in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized controlled trial
Pei et al. · Mayo Clinic Proceedings · 2020
Studied: 531 people with IBS at seven hospitals in China had acupuncture or standard IBS medication.
Found: Acupuncture reduced symptom severity more than medication at 6 weeks, with effects lasting to 12 weeks. No serious side effects.
Find the study →A treatment trial of acupuncture in IBS patients
Lembo et al. · American Journal of Gastroenterology · 2009
Studied: 230 adults with IBS had 3 weeks of real or sham acupuncture, or were wait-listed.
Found: Real acupuncture was not better than sham.
Read the study → -
In short: A review of studies with over 3,600 people found improved blood sugar markers.
Should acupuncture-related therapies be considered in prediabetes control?
Edith Cowan University · Holistic Nursing Practice · 2022
Found: Acupuncture improved fasting and 2-hour blood glucose and HbA1c, with fewer people progressing.
Keep in mind: Acupuncture does not replace diet, activity or diabetes care from your doctor.
Read the study → -
In short: Acupuncture and herbal medicine combined with lifestyle changes did better than lifestyle changes alone in several studies.
Network meta-analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine for weight management
Chen & Liu · Obesity Science & Practice · 2024
Found: Acupuncture and herbal medicine were associated with weight loss in overweight adults.
Read the study →Acupuncture, herbal medicine and lifestyle changes
Sahebkar-Khorasani et al. · 2022
Found: The combination worked better than lifestyle changes alone.
Read the study →
Category
Other conditions
Research on acupuncture for other health concerns, including seasonal allergies.
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In short: A German trial found acupuncture modestly improved quality of life and reduced antihistamine use.
Acupuncture in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis (ACUSAR)
Brinkhaus et al. · Annals of Internal Medicine · 2013
Studied: 422 people allergic to birch and grass pollen had acupuncture, sham acupuncture or allergy medication alone.
Found: Acupuncture gave a modest improvement in allergy-related quality of life and reduced antihistamine use.
Find the study →
Good to know
What is "sham" acupuncture?
Many studies compare real acupuncture with sham acupuncture. Sham acupuncture is designed to look and feel like real acupuncture. It may use needles that don't penetrate the skin, or needles placed at non-acupuncture points.
It works like a placebo pill in a drug trial. Because sham treatment can have effects of its own, the difference between real and sham acupuncture is often smaller than the difference between acupuncture and no treatment.
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