Acupuncture May Help Menstrual Pain

When a woman has her period, she can feel like she already has pins and needles in her abdomen. But a new German study says acupuncture needles may actually relieve menstrual cramps, making females more productive during that time of the month, Reuters reports. Since the study compared acupuncture patients with a group who received no treatment, however, the patients might have experienced the "placebo effect," said Dr. Claudia Witt of Charite University Medical Center in Berlin. "Nevertheless, our study showed that acupuncture was beneficial for women if offered as part of the health insurance system," the researchers write in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

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Older Americans begin to embrace nontraditional medicine

Her swollen knees in pain, Vivian Evans reached the breaking point. Arthroscopy repaired the tendons wrenched in a June 2006 car accident, but cortisone shots provided little relief. Exasperated, the 68-year-old Florissant retiree decided to take a nontraditional turn. After four treatments by Clayton acupuncturist Eric Saitta, Evans had less pain and greater mobility.

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