In an intriguing study published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers have uncovered evidence suggesting that acupuncture could be an effective treatment for combat veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Conducted by Michael Hollifield, M.D., and his team at the Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California, the study compared the effects of real (verum) acupuncture against placebo (sham) acupuncture in 93 veterans seeking PTSD treatment.
Participants underwent 24 one-hour acupuncture sessions over several weeks.
The study’s findings revealed a significant improvement in PTSD symptoms for those receiving real acupuncture, with a large treatment effect size compared to a moderate effect in the sham group.
Furthermore, a moderate difference favoring the real acupuncture group was observed, indicating a more substantial reduction in PTSD symptoms.
Interestingly, the study also found that real acupuncture was associated with better fear extinction, as evidenced by a significant reduction in fear-potentiated startle during extinction from before to after treatment.
This suggests that acupuncture may help reduce PTSD symptoms by improving the ability to extinguish fear responses, a core aspect of the disorder.
The withdrawal rates from the study were low, indicating that acupuncture is a well-tolerated treatment option for veterans with PTSD.
The researchers advocate for further studies to explore acupuncture’s effectiveness relative to current treatments, its mechanisms of action, long-term benefits, and potential as an early intervention tool.
This study adds to the growing body of evidence supporting acupuncture as a viable treatment option for PTSD, offering hope for veterans and others suffering from this debilitating condition.
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The research findings can be found in JAMA Psychiatry.
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