Acupuncture may help cancer pain side effects: research

Acupuncture may help cancer patients suffering with foot and calf pain caused by side effects of their drugs, research has suggested.

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor

7:45AM GMT 06 Dec 2011

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 A small study found patients who had acupuncture reported improvements in their pain and nerve signals increased showing some recovery, the researchers from Hamburg in Germany said.

The findings were published in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine.

The patients were being treated with a wide range of chemotherapy drugs known to cause a condition called chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy which damages the nerves in the calves and feet which can lead to difficulty walking.

Six people underwent ten sessions of acupuncture over three months and measurements from them were compared with five subjects who did not have acupuncture.

Blood flow to the lower legs may have been boosted by the therapy, the researchers suggested, and larger trials should be conducted.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8935853/Acupuncture-may-help-cancer-pain-side-effects-research.html
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