Acupuncture reduces chronic fatigue

A study in Korea found Chinese acupuncture reduces chronic fatigue.

Patients and treatments: A randomized controlled trial was performed in four Korean hospitals to evaluate the effectiveness of traditional Chinese acupuncture and traditional Korean acupuncture plus usual care for chronic fatigue syndrome and idiopathic chronic fatigue compared to usual care alone. 150 patients were assigned to receive 10 sessions of traditional Chinese or Korean acupuncture treatment within 4 weeks (2-3 sessions a week) plus usual care, or usual care alone (control group). The primary outcome was the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) at 5 weeks after randomization. Secondary outcomes were FSS at 13 weeks and a short form of the Stress Response Inventory (SRI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for fatigue at 5 and 13 weeks.
Results: Group A showed significantly lower FSS fatigue scores than the control group at 5 weeks (p=0.023). SRI stress scores were significantly lower in the 2 acupuncture treatment groups than in the control group at 5 (group A, p=0.032; B, p<0.001) and 13 weeks (group A, p=0.037; B, p<0.001). Group B showed significantly lower BDI depression score than group C at 13 weeks (p=0.007). NRS fatigue scores from the treatment groups were significantly reduced compared to control at 5 (group A and B, p<0.001) and 13 weeks (group A, p=0.011; B, p=0.002).
Conclusion: Chinese body acupuncture for 4 weeks in addition to usual care helps to reduce fatigue better than usual care alone in chronic fatigue patients.

Source: Kim JE, et al. Acupuncture for chronic fatigue syndrome and idiopathic chronic fatigue: A multicenter, nonblinded, randomized controlled trial. Trials 2015;16:314.