Can Acupuncture Really Work? Here’s What the Data Says

Acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years — but how effective is it really? We looked at real-world clinical data from over 600 patients to find out.

Here’s what we discovered:

Study at a Glance

• Data collected from 613 patients at a clinical acupuncture practice conducted by EIIHS in 2022.

• Focused on symptom severity before and after treatment

• Analyzed conditions like knee pain, back pain, shoulder pain, CTS, and more

What We Found: Acupuncture works

Patients reported a significant reduction in symptoms after acupuncture. For the main complaint (e.g. knee pain), the average drop in symptom severity was over 3.5 points on a 10-point scale — a clinically meaningful improvement.

More sessions = better results. Patients who received multiple treatments experienced greater improvements than those who had just one.

Most common complaints? These saw strong improvement across the board.

• Knee pain

• Back pain (lumbago)

• Shoulder pain

Surprise finding: Even conditions like gastritis and carpal tunnel syndrome showed significant relief.

Why It Matters

This study adds to the growing body of evidence supporting acupuncture as an effective option for managing chronic pain and other conditions — especially when used consistently over time.

Want the full details?

Acupuncture_Effectiveness_Study_Nepal2023.pdf

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