On defining acupuncture and its techniques: A commentary on the problem of sham

Stephen Birch, Myeong Soo Lee, Tae-Hun Kim, Terje Alraek, Stephen Birch, Myeong Soo Lee, Tae-Hun Kim, Terje Alraek

No abstract available

Keywords: Acupuncture; Clinical trials; Inserted needling; Non-inserted needling; Sham acupuncture.

Conflict of interest statement

All the authors are part of the journal's editorial board but it was externally reviewed and they had no bearing on the editorial process. There are no other conflicts of interest regarding this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Acupuncture techniques and their potential biological effects. Shaded boxes denote that the most common sham acupuncture techniques use non-penetrating and shallow insertion needling and are likely to inadvertently trigger the same biological effects as the non-penetrating and shallow insertion needling forms of acupuncture. TCM, traditional Chinese medicine.

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Source: PubMed

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