Depression cured by acupuncture ? Depression is a difficult, and often lifelong uphill battle for many people who have fought this condition. The Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine has published research that claims depression cured by acupuncture. Those with depression have tried many anti-depressant medications and holistic treatments with variable amounts of success. Each single treatment for depression often provides improvement in only some patients, so one often needs to try several options before finding one that works for them. Acupuncture has been used for hundreds of health conditions, but research now shows benefit in a large number of health complaints. Now evidence shows that depression cured by acupuncture may result in a higher quality of life. If you would like to screen yourself for depression, try the Zung Self Rating Depression Scale
Clinical Study Claims Depression Cured by Acupuncture
The study was done on 163 adults with depression who received acupuncture twice weekly for 12 weeks. They used a traditional method of acupuncture treatment on group 1 with needles placed up to 12 mm deep. Group 2 was a placebo group where the acupuncture was done at the same locations as group 1, but to a depth of only 2-3 mm. Group 3 was treated with the same shallow depth as group 2 but the needles were applied away from the acupoints used in group 1 and 2.
The study found that the group 1 had a significantly higher response than the other 2 groups. The study evaluated 8 parameters of the groups after treatment, after 1 month, and after 3 months. These parameters included physical function, physical role, bodily pain, general physical condition, energy, social function, emotional function and mental health. There were significantly greater improvements in these parameters for group 1 compared to the other groups.
References for Depression Cured by Acupuncture According to Study
Fan L, Fu W, Chen Z, Xu N, Liu J, Lü A, Su S, Wu T, Ou A. Curative effect of acupuncture on quality of life in patient with depression: a clinical randomized single-blind placebo-controlled study. J Tradit Chin Med. 2016 Apr;36(2):151-9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27400468