More patients to seek private medical cover for acupuncture following new report?

Those seeking private medical cover may opt for a policy that covers acupuncture following a new report.

According to researchers from University Hospital in Essen, Germany, there is evidence to suggest the therapy can have a pain killer effect greater than that of a placebo.

The team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to take pictures of brain activity while patients received a pain stimulus.

Using 18 healthy volunteers, scientists compared fMRI scans of participants' brains while receiving pain both with and without acupuncture needles in place.

They found there was a significant reduction in the activation of brain areas involved in pain perception when the volunteers had undergone acupuncture first.

"Until now, the role of acupuncture in the perception and processing of pain has been controversial," said lead researcher Nina Theysohn.

"Functional MRI gives us the opportunity to directly observe areas of the brain that are activated during pain perception and see the variances that occur with acupuncture."

As well as pain relief, acupuncture is used in treatment for a variety of conditions, including sports injuries, bowel or bladder problems such as IBS and allergies.

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