Ombro congelado: uma comparação entre as abordagens ocidental e tradicional chinesa e um estudo clínico do seu tratamento com acupunctura

Emad S Tukmachi
Acupunct Med 1999; 17:9-21 doi: 10.1136/aim.17.1.9

Um estudo piloto usando acupunctura no tratamento de 31 pacientes com ombro congelado mostrou uma melhoria marcada em 24 doentes e melhoria apenas em 6. Os pacientes com artrite idiopática ou ombro congelado responderam melhor ao tratamento do que aqueles com etiologia pós-traumática. Não houve relação entre a resposta à acupunctura e a idade.

Embora este estudo não tenha tido grupo controlo, o elevado nível de melhoria em conjunto com a experiência clínica do autor sugere que a acupunctura deve ser considerada uma opção eficaz no tratamento do ombro congelado, tanto mais que a terapia médica convencional tem uma baixa expectativa de benefício. A etiopatologia e abordagem clínica são descritas de acordo com a medicina ocidental e com a medicina tradicional chinesa, bem como o tratamento com acupunctura.

http://aim.bmj.com/content/17/1/9.abstract

Rastreio do Cancro do Colo do útero dos Açores

Senhoras da Região Autónoma dos Açores:

Se tem entre 25 e 64 anos e vive nos Açores, é importante se informe no seu Centro de Saúde da área de residência se tem Médico de Família e, se o desejar, solicite a realização do Rastreio do Cancro do Colo do Útero (antigo Papanicolau).

• Este rastreio entrou formalmente em vigor a partir de 2010 e denomina-se R.O.C.C.A. (Rastreio do Cancro do Colo do útero dos Açores). Pode já ter realizado este exame antes, pois já era efectuado nas consultas com o seu Médico de Família desde muito antes.
• A realização deste rastreio implica a realização de um exame ginecológico de 3 em 3 anos (se os resultados forem sempre normais), no qual são colhidas células do seu colo do útero, e detectadas alterações pré-cancerosas e que podem ser tratadas muito antes de evoluirem para cancro do colo do útero.
• Se o resultado do exame for anormal poderá necessitar de realizar este exame ou outros exames com maior regularidade ou necessitar de tratamento.

É importante prevenir e/ou detectar precocemente o Cancro do Colo do Útero.

Acupunctura para a Fasceíte Plantar

A Fasceíte Plantar é a causa mais frequente de dor na planta do pé, mais frequentemente no calcanhar.

Neste estudo, que incluiu um total de 38 doentes,  há uma melhoria no grupo que fez Acupunctura junto com o tratamento habitual para esta patologia (gelo, anti-inflamatórios não esteróides e programa de fisioterapia), relativamente ao grupo de doentes que recebeu apenas o tratamento habitual, sem a Acupunctura.

Conferência Fisiologia da Acupunctura

Na Conferencia Fisiologia da Acupunctura, a realizar-se a 3 de Fevereiro na Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas de Lisboa, o Professor Lundberg (fisiatra e especialista no tratamento da dor) explica alguns dos mecanismos de actuacao da Acupunctura.
A entrada e gratuita para medicos, mediante inscricao no Gabinete de Estudos Pos-Graduados da FCM ate 20 de Janeiro.

Vale a mesmo a pena!...

Acupuncture for Pain: artigo e informação para o doente da revista American Family Physician

Acupuncture for Pain Relief

ROBERT B. KELLY, MD, MS, Fairview Hospital/Cleveland Clinic Family Medicine Residency, Cleveland, Ohio

Am Fam Physician.,2009 Sep 1;80(5):481-484.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2009/0901/p481.html

Acupuncture is increasingly used as an alternative or complementary therapy for the treatment of pain. It is well tolerated, with a low risk of serious adverse effects. Traditional and modern acupuncture techniques may result in reported improvement in pain patterns. Research on acupuncture has had a number of limitations, including: incomplete understanding of the physiologic effects of acupuncture; ineffective blinding of participants; unclear adequacy of acupuncture “dose;” difficulty in identification of suitable sham or placebo treatments; and the use of standardized treatment regimens rather than the individualized approach that characterizes most acupuncture practice. Controlled trials have been published regarding acupuncture for lumbar, shoulder, and neck pain; headache; arthritis; fibromyalgia; temporomandibular joint pain; and other pain syndromes. Enough data are available for some conditions to allow systematic evaluations or meta-analyses. Based on published evidence, acupuncture is most likely to benefit patients with low back pain, neck pain, chronic idiopathic or tension headache, migraine, and knee osteoarthritis. Promising but less definitive data exist for shoulder pain, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular joint pain, and postoperative pain. Acupuncture has not been proven to improve pain from rheumatoid arthritis. For other pain conditions, there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions.

Information from Your Family Doctor

Acupuncture for Pain Relief

Am Fam Physician. 2009, Sep 1;80(5):506.

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is when thin needles are put into certain places on the body. Acupuncture has been an important part of traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. In modern times, other acupuncture methods have been discovered. The most common of these is “electroacupuncture,” which is when mild electrical pulses are passed through the acupuncture needles into the body. Doctors who treat patients with acupuncture are more likely to use electroacupuncture than acupuncturists who are not doctors.

How does it work?

Doctors aren't sure how acupuncture works. The traditional explanation is that acupuncture restores the normal flow of energy in the body.

Why do people have acupuncture?

Acupuncture is most often used to treat low back pain, neck and shoulder pain, headaches, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and nerve pain.

Does it work?

Many people with a painful condition will feel somewhat or even completely better after acupuncture. Some people do not respond to acupuncture at all, and others do not respond well enough to make it worth the time and expense.

You may need several treatments before you know whether acupuncture will help. If it does help, you will have more treatments until the pain is better. At that point, treatments can be spaced further and further apart. You may need treatments every so often to keep the pain from coming back.

Is acupuncture painful? Is it safe?

Acupuncture needles are very thin and have no cutting edge. This makes them much less painful than needles used to give shots. Once acupuncture needles are in place, you may not feel them, or you might feel only a mild ache.

Acupuncture is safe. Complications are very rare. Some people have minor side effects, such as a headache or feeling tired. Sometimes symptoms get worse before they get better.

Where can I get more information?

Your doctor

American Academy of Medical Acupuncture

Web site: http://www.medicalacupuncture.org/

National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

Web site: http://www.nccaom.org/find/index.html