The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Acupuncture: Effective and possibly cost effective in treating chronic neck pain

    An earlier post summarized the Cochrane Collaboration’s positive assessment of acupuncture to treat chronic neck pain. Now, there’s additional support based on a study of more than 14,000 patients.

    Patients with chronic neck pain for longer than 6 months were randomly assigned to usual medical care plus 15 acupuncture sessions over three months or to usual care without acupuncture. A third group that refused random allocation to treatment also received usual care but no acupuncture.

    When assessed at 3 and 6 months after starting treatment, acupuncture added to routine care was associated with significant improvements in neck pain and disability compared to routine care alone.

    Acupuncture treatment was associated with significantly higher costs over the first 3 months compared to routine care. This isn?t surprising since the added cost was due to the acupuncture sessions. Although not evaluated directly, the researchers assumed that beyond the 3-month study duration, acupuncture might be associated with economic benefits.

    11/11/06 18:04 JR

    Leave a Comment

    You must be logged in to post a comment.