Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been practiced in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years. Acupuncture involves stimulating specific points on the body. This is most often done by inserting thin needles through the skin, to cause a change in the physical functions of the body.
Research has shown that acupuncture reduces nausea and vomiting after surgery and chemotherapy. It can also relieve pain. Researchers don't fully understand how acupuncture works. It might aid the activity of your body's pain-killing chemicals. It also might affect how you release chemicals that regulate blood pressure and flow.
It sits within Complementary and Alternative Therapies.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Acupuncture
1,652 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Comparing Acupuncture With Medication to Reduce Depression, Anxiety and Comorbid Sleep Disorders in ChinaDuke Kunshan University
- VGAIT for Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral NeuropathyMassachusetts General Hospital
- The Effect of Electroacupuncture on Nerve Pain Caused by Chemotherapy (Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy)Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- An Acupuncture Study for People At High Risk for SepsisUniversity of California, Irvine
- Pelvic Pain Electro-AcupunctureSt. Olavs Hospital
- Brain Mechanisms of Video-Guided Acupuncture Imagery Treatment on Chronic Low Back PainMassachusetts General Hospital
Research already completed
- Efficacy of Acupuncture on Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN)China Medical University Hospital
- Effect of Combined Program of Electro Acupuncture With Exercise on Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction During PregnancyBeni-Suef University
- Mechanistic Studies on Video-guided Acupuncture Imagery Treatment of PainMassachusetts General Hospital
- Effect of Thread-Embedding Acupuncture at EX-B2 Acupoint on Pain Intensity and Quality of Life in Chronic Low Back PainIndonesia University
- Efficacy of Acupuncture on Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN)-TMANHTaiwan Municipal An-Nan Hospital-China Medical University
- Feasibility and Safety of Acupuncture With Semi-Permanent Needles for the Prevention of Irinotecan-Associated Diarrhea in Pediatric Solid TumorsFundació Sant Joan de Déu
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Learn More
- 6 Things to Know When Selecting a Complementary Health PractitionerNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- AcupunctureMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- AcupunctureBoston Children's Hospital
- AcupunctureNational Cancer Institute
- Acupuncture (For Parents)Nemours Foundation
- Acupuncture: Effectiveness and SafetyNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Chronic Pain and Complementary Health ApproachesNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Credentialing, Licensing, and EducationNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Find a Practitioner DirectoryNational Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative HealthNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Acupuncture TherapyNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Acupuncture Therapy. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Acupuncture, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.