True acupuncture treatment of 8-week, compared with sham acupuncture, significantly improved the symptoms of the patients with moderate to severe chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), with sustainable effects of 24 weeks following treatment. The study was published in the Journal of Annals of Internal Medicine, one of the most widely-cited medical journals in the world.
The CP/CPPS are long-term conditions in men. They cause a
range of symptoms including pain, urinary problems, reduced quality of life and
sexual dysfunction that are difficult to treat and for which there is currently
no cure. CP/CPPS can have a deleterious effect on an individual’s psychological
wellbeing. Conventional treatments include antibiotics, alpha-blockers,
anti-inflammatory agents and other medical agents, however none of which has
proven to be totally effective.
Acupuncture has been used to treat CP/CPPS with positive
outcome, however the number of patients with CP/CPPS were limited in many
clinical studies. Recently a multiple centres, randomized, sham-controlled
clinical study involving men with CP/CPPS was carried out in China. A total of
440 patients with CP/CPPS were recruited and randomly allocated into
acupuncture (n=220) and sham acupuncture (n=220). The treatment protocol
included a total of seven acupuncture points bilaterally (BL33, BL35, BL23, SP6)
for acupuncture group. For the sham acupuncture group, minimally invasive
needles were inserted to a depth of 2 to 3 mm at bilateral non-acupoints (15 mm
lateral to BL23, BL33, and BL35 and 10 mm lateral to SP6) without manipulation.
Overall treatment lasted for 30 minutes in both groups. All participants
received 3 treatments for the 1st consecutive 4-week, then 2
treatments for the 2nd consecutive 4-week.
The primary result was a reduction of at least 6 points
from baseline in the NIH-CPSI total score. The NIH-CPSI was managed at weeks 1
to 8, 20, and 32. Response was evaluated immediately after week-8 treatment and
followed up at 24 weeks after treatment. The data showed that 20 sessions of acupuncture
over 8 weeks in acupuncture group resulted in a significant improvement in
symptoms of moderate to severe CP/CPPS, with durable effects 24 weeks after
treatment compared with sham acupuncture group.
Data showed acupuncture treatment is able to decrease
pain, positively impact quality of life and potentially modulate inflammation and
suggested acupuncture could be a potential therapeutic option for men with
CP/CPPS.
Although precise mechanisms of action of acupuncture are
not completely clear, it could include gate control of pain pathways, increased
endogenous opioid release and altered sympathetic tone.
Reference
Sun Y, Liu Y, Liu B, etc. Efficacy of Acupuncture for Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome : A Randomized Trial. Ann Intern Med. 2021 Aug 17. doi: 10.7326/M21-1814.
