Blood samples taken before, during, and 30 minutes after needle placement revealed that the patients' subjective pain decreased, likely due to acupuncture treatment.
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The researchers also measured two biomarkers of inflammation in blood samples taken before, during, and 30 minutes after placement of the needles. The researchers found that the patients' subjective pain decreased, likely due to the acupuncture treatment.
The researchers said, "Furthermore, one of the inflammatory biomarkers (white blood cell count) showed a modest and noticeable drop suggesting that the effectiveness of acupuncture may have a biophysiological basis."
The study is published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
Source-Medindia