Research that supports the use of acupunture when dealing with the following conditions

Anxiety

Research concludes acupuncture may have beneficial effects on both depression and anxiety.

Samuels N, Gropp C, Singer SR, Oberbaum M. Acupuncture for psychiatric illness: a literature review. Behav Med. 2008 Summer;34(2):55-64.

There is promising evidence for acupuncture's effectiveness in acute, short-term anxiety, but its relevance to chronic anxiety conditions remains unclear.        

Pilkington K. Anxiety, depression and acupuncture: A review of the clinical research. Auton Neurosci. 2010 Oct 28;157(1-2):91-5.

 Acne

A systematic review has found that acupuncture combined with moxibustion is both safe and effective for treating acne, potentially offering better results than standard Western medicine.                                                                                                      

Li B, Chai H, Du YH, Xiao L, Xiong J. [Evaluation of therapeutic effect and safety for clinical randomized and controlled trials of treatment of acne with acupuncture and moxibustion]. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2009 Mar;29(3):247-51

Back and neck pain

The results for musculoskeletal pain (back and neck) showed that acupuncture participants experienced less pain compared to those who did not receive acupuncture.

Vickers AJ, Vertosick EA, Lewith G, MacPherson H, Foster NE, Sherman KJ, Irnich D, Witt CM, Linde K; Acupuncture Trialists' Collaboration. Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis. J Pain. 2018 May;19(5):455-474.

Dysmenorrhoea (Painful periods)

Acupuncture proved to be significantly more effective at reducing menstrual pain compared to no treatment or the use of anti inflammatory drugs, and it may start alleviating pain from the very first session.

Woo HL, Ji HR, Pak YK, Lee H, Heo SJ, Lee JM, Park KS. The efficacy and safety of acupuncture in women with primary dysmenorrhea: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2018 Jun;97(23).

Depression

A large, high-quality trial conducted in the UK indicates that acupuncture is effective when compared to standard care.

MacPherson H, Richmond S, Bland M, Brealey S, Gabe R, Hopton A, Keding A, Lansdown H, Perren S, Sculpher M, Spackman E, Torgerson D, Watt I. Acupuncture and counselling for depression in primary care: a randomised controlled trial. PLoS Med. 2013;10(9).

Headaches

Overall results for chronic headaches, including migraines and tension headaches, showed that those who received acupuncture experienced less pain compared to those in the no-acupuncture control group.

Vickers, A.J., et al., Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis. The journal of pain: official journal of the American Pain Society, 2018. 19(5): p. 455-474.

Infertility

A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis, acupuncture was found to significantly improve birth rates in sub-fertile women undergoing IVF.

Zhang X, Lee MS, Smith CA, Robinson N, Zhou Y, Wu Y, Mao Y-Y, Qu F (2018). Effects of acupuncture during in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Integrative Medicine 23:14–25.

Insomnia

“Acupuncture appears to be effective in the treatment of insomnia”

Cao H, Pan X, Li H, Liu J. Acupuncture for treatment of insomnia: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Nov;15(11):1171-86.

Chronic fatigue syndrome

The treatment effect of acupuncture and moxibustion for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) was significantly greater than that of other therapies.                                

Fang, Y., et al., Acupuncture and moxibustion for chronic fatigue syndrome: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Medicine, 2022. 101(31).