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Research Article: Does Acupuncture Hurt? A Retrospective Study on Pain and Satisfaction during Pediatric Acupuncture

Date Published: 2023-11-01

Abstract:
Previous studies have shown the benefit and safety of pediatric acupuncture, but it is often rejected by patients and their caregivers due to the perception of needling pain associated with acupuncture. A retrospective cohort study of 230 unique patients (1380 sessions) aged 8 to 21 underwent Kiiko Matsumoto Style acupuncture in an outpatient pain clinic. Patients completed a post-acupuncture survey, including the Faces Pain Scale-Revised and Likert-like scales about overall satisfaction, relaxation, and anxiolysis. Univariate analyses were conducted on all outcomes of interest. The mean needling pain score was 1.3 out of 10 with 57.7% of patients reporting no needling pain during their first acupuncture session. The mean score for overall satisfaction was 8.4 out of 10, relaxation was 8.2 out of 10, and anxiety reduction was 7.7 out of 10. The overall satisfaction, relaxation, and anxiolytic effect of acupuncture was increased in patients with more sessions (p = 0.003, 0.022, 0.004, respectively). There was no change in needling pain scores in patients with an increased number of acupuncture sessions (p = 0.776). Patients experience minimal needling pain during acupuncture needling and are highly satisfied with acupuncture. Those with more treatment sessions report feeling increased satisfaction and relaxation.

Introduction:
Integrative approaches to pediatric pain management have been gaining attention and popularity, as they have the potential to help children manage symptoms (i.e., pain, anxiety) associated with chronic pain, as well as decrease the usage of addictive opioid medications [1]. While acupuncture therapy has been routinely prescribed clinically with adults and less often with children, most research to date has focused on the safety and efficacy of acupuncture for patients with various pain conditions. In children,…

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