A recent trial of acupuncture in four Melbourne emergency departments has revealed that it was as effective as drugs in relieving lower-back pain and that from sprained ankles and migraines.
Dr Michael Ben-Meir, director of Cabrini Hospital's emergency department said that the trial showed that acupuncture was equivalent to what they defined as conventional medicine standard care, which was strong oral analgesia, like Endone, Panadeine Forte, Voltaren and Valium, the Sunday Morning Herald reported.
Professor Charlie Xue , one of the chief investigator of the project said that study showed a very low rate of minor adverse events, such as bleeding at the needling sites.