EAST MEETS WEST –
July 10, 2024 – Eight weeks of acupuncture was found to reduce the dose of methadone needed to control opioid cravings, which could make patients likelier to stick with their treatment. Methadone is one of the most effective medications for curbing opioid addiction, but uncomfortable side effects can cause people to stop treatment. The latest: The study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found acupuncture can make medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder easier on patients.
118 patients were randomly assigned to receive either acupuncture or a procedure that mimicked acupuncture without piercing skin.
Patients did not know which treatment they received and had the treatment three times a week for eight weeks.
Previous research showed that reducing a patient’s methadone dose by 20% or more at the end of acupuncture treatment can prevent addiction relapse, the study noted.
