Acupuncture has long been recognized as an effective treatment for chronic pain. More than 14 million Americans have tried acupuncture, according to the most recent statistics from the National Health Interview Survey, a large ongoing study that tracks healthcare habits in the U.S. The study found that nearly six percent of Americans have allowed themselves to be pricked with dozens of slender needles to help alleviate chronic pain, up from just one percent of patients a decade ago.

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“Use of acupuncture has been percolating for quite a while and it’s now becoming much more mainstream in medicine,” said Dr. Houman Danesh, director of integrative pain management at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York.

In the Comparison of effectiveness of acupuncture therapy and conventional drug therapy on psychological profile of migraine patients, researches conclude that acupuncture is a better treatment option than the conventional drug therapy in not only relieving the pain of migraine but in also improving the psychological profile in migraneurs. Hence its use should be encouraged as an alternative/adjunct treatment for migraine. Also in the situation while pain killer, antibiotic and steroid fail to reduce pain or condition of drug use is cautioned during pregnancy or liver, kidney impact over long term use.

A 2012 analysis of data on individual participants in acupuncture studies looked at migraine and tension headaches. The analysis showed that actual acupuncture was more effective than either no acupuncture or simulated acupuncture in reducing headache frequency or severity.
A 2009 systematic review of studies concluded that actual acupuncture, compared with simulated acupuncture or pain-relieving drugs, helped people with tension-type headaches. A 2008 systematic review of studies suggested that actual acupuncture has a very slight advantage over simulated acupuncture in reducing tension-type headache intensity and the number of headache days per month.
A 2009 systematic review found that adding acupuncture to basic care for migraines helped to reduce migraine frequency. However, in studies that compared actual acupuncture with simulated acupuncture, researchers found that the differences between the two treatments may have been due to chance.
A 2012 analysis of data on participants in acupuncture studies looked at back and neck pain together and found that actual acupuncture was more helpful than either no acupuncture or simulated acupuncture.
A 2010 review by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that acupuncture relieved low-back pain immediately after treatment but not over longer periods of time.
A 2008 systematic review of studies on acupuncture for low-back pain found strong evidence that combining acupuncture with usual care helps more than usual care alone. The same review also found strong evidence that there is no difference between the effects of actual and simulated acupuncture in people with low-back pain.
Clinical practice guidelines issued by the American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians in 2007 recommend acupuncture as one of several non-drug approaches physicians should consider when patients with chronic low-back pain do not respond to self-care (practices that people can do by themselves, such as remaining active, applying heat, and taking pain-relieving medications).
The hip joint is designed to withstand repeated motion and a fair amount of wear and tear. This ball-and-socket joint — the body’s largest — fits together in a way that allows for fluid movement. Acupuncture has been effectively treating:
Arthritis:
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
Osteoarthritis
Psoriatic arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Septic arthritis
Injuries:
Bursitis
Hip labral tear
Inguinal hernia
Tendinitis
Pinched nerves:
Meralgia paresthetica
Sacroiliitis
Sciatica
Acupuncture has been treating pain related to Angina, Brachial plexus injury,Broken arm,Broken wrist/broken hand,Bursitis,Carpal tunnel syndrome,Cervical disk herniation, De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, Meralgia paresthetica, Hiatal hernia, Pinched nerve.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rotator cuff injury
Sprains and strains
Tendinitis
Tennis elbow
Thoracic outlet syndrome
Acupuncture has been effective in helping with
Carpal tunnel syndrome causes pain, weakness, tingling or numbness in the Palm and some fingers of the hand, Wrist and Forearm
Trigger finger which People at higher risk include those who have: Rheumatoid arthritis, Gout, and Diabetes
A major 2012 analysis of data on participants in acupuncture studies found that actual acupuncture was more helpful for osteoarthritis pain than simulated acupuncture or no acupuncture.
A 2010 systematic review of studies of acupuncture for knee or hip osteoarthritis concluded that actual acupuncture was more helpful for osteoarthritis pain than either simulated acupuncture or no acupuncture. However, the difference between actual and simulated acupuncture was very small, while the difference between acupuncture and no acupuncture was large.
 Acupuncture has been proved effective to treat or alleviate
Arch Pain: Plantar fasciitis, Fallen arches or flat feet,
Ball Pain: Metatarsalgia, Morton’s neuroma, Sesamoiditis
Heel Pain: If your pain is in your heel, you may have plantar fasciitis; Heel spurs;
Toe Pain: Gout, a form of arthritis;
Foot Pain That’s Anywhere or Everywhere: Neuropathy, or nerve damage; Tendinitis
Ankle Pain: Achilles tendinitis; Tarsal tunnel syndrome; Psoriatic arthritis; Reactive arthritis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Septic arthritis
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a neuropathic pain syndrome characterized by severe unilateral paroxysmal facial pain. Pain attacks are usually stimulated by tactile irritation within the region of the trigeminal nerve.1 TN pain typically remits and relapses, even when patients are on conventionally used treatments, resulting in a major source of disability and poor quality of life. Various drugs, such as carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, phenytoin, gabapentin and baclofen, have been used to treat TN.1 Additionally, several minimally invasive approaches, such as trigeminal nerve block at the level of the sphenopalatine ganglion, microvascular decompression, radiofrequency rhizotomy and botulinum toxin injection, have been performed for the relief of pain.1,2 However, none of these methods are free of complications.

Former U.S. Navy Cook Talks About Pain Management
Patty Davis, who was a cook for 21 years in the U.S. Navy—and she loved it. But after years of hauling heavy loads of food over her shoulder up and down ship ladders, Patty is now paying the price: shoulder and back pain. She’s received excellent conventional health services through the Veterans Health Administration, including back surgery, but she still feels pain.
Patty decided to try something new in addition to her conventional treatment: acupuncture. And she was very pleased with the results. After her acupuncture session, she had no trouble rolling over to get off the treatment table, even though rolling over in bed was usually very painful.
Patty’s positive experience with acupuncture fuels her opinion on the value of complementary health research. She knows there are many veterans in pain and that finding approaches to help others like her is well worth the time.