Peripheral Neuropathy
What is so promising about acupuncture research is that in addition to showing good outcomes for symptom relief of PN, there are also clinical and animal mechanism studies showing acupuncture has the ability to encourage nerve regeneration.
For example, a trial led by neurologists published in the 2020 edition of the Journal of Diabetes reached this conclusion:
“Conclusions: Classical needle acupuncture had significant effects on DPN. Improvement in NCS values presumably indicates structural neuroregeneration following acupuncture.”
That trial was titled “Electrophysiologically Verified Effects of Acupuncture on Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy in Type 2 Diabetes: The Randomized, Partially Double-blinded, Controlled ACUDIN Trial”
Other random controlled trials going back to the late 1990s show similar results for both chemotherapy-induced PN and idiopathic PN.
Below are a list of studies, most of which are open access so the full studies can be found online for free.
Important Studies and the Points They Used
“Acupuncture for the treatment of chronic painful peripheral diabetic neuropathy: a long-term study” A Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice 1998
Points used: LI3 (LV3?), Sp6, Sp9, St36
“Fifteen-day acupuncture treatment relieves diabetic peripheral neuropathy” Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies 2010,
Points used: LI4, LI11, ST36, ST40, SP6
“Role of acupuncture in the management of diabetic painful neuropathy (dpn): A pilot RCT” Acupuncture Medicine 2014.
Points used: LR3, KI3, SP6, ST36
“Effect of acupuncture on diabetic peripheral neuropathy: An uncontrolled preliminary study from Korea” Acupuncture Medicine 2014
Points used: Ex-LE10 (Ba-feng), LR3, GB34, GB39, GB41, ST36, SP6, SP9
“Acupuncture treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy in an American Indian community” Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies 2017
Points used: EX-LE10, ST32, ST37, ST42, SP7, SP9, KI1, KI3, KI9, LR4, LR7, GB34, GB37