Acupuncture for painful periods

Non-invasive electro-acupuncture stimulation applied at Hegu L.I.-4 and Sanyinjiao SP-6 can significantly reduce the pain of dysmenorrhoea, according to a Taiwanese group. A randomised controlled trial enrolled 66 patients with primary dysmenorrhoea (without pelvic pathology) and randomly assigned them to an experimental or control group. In the experimental group, acupuncture-like trans-cutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (AL-TENS) at a mid-range frequency (1000-10,000Hz) was applied at Hegu L.I.-4 and Sanyinjiao SP-6 twice weekly for eight weeks, while the control group received AL-TENS at non-acupoints. After the intervention, the average total pain score in the experimental group was significantly lower than in the control group (2.9 vs 5.4). Significant differences were also observed between the groups in the average change in pain scores pre- and post-intervention (4.5 vs 1.39). Pain severity post-intervention was also significantly different between the two groups. (Effects of noninvasive electroacupuncture at Hegu (LI4) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) acupoints on dysmenorrhea: a randomized controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2012 Feb;18(2):137-42).