The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American National Institutes of Health (NIH), based on a series of clinical trials designed with strict methodological criteria, published a list of indications of Medical Acupuncture, which has also been accepted by IASP (International Association for the Study of Pain).
Diseases, symptoms and conditions for which acupuncture has been proved effective with controlled, clinical trials are:
• Stroke
• Headache (including migraine)
• Facial pain (including trigeminal neuralgia and temporomandibular joint disorders)
• Toothache
• Neck pain
• Low back pain
• Sciatica
• Knee pain
• Sprain pain
• Shoulder periarthritis
• Epicondylitis (tennis elbow)
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Post-operative pain
• Epigatric pain (peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis)
• Renal colic
• Biliary colic
• Dysmenorrhea
• Chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-induced side effects
• Nausea and vomiting
• Morning sickness
• Leukopenia
• Allergic rhinitis
• Hypertension
• Hypotension
• Correction of the fetal position
• Induction of labor
• Depression