The Chinese Medicine Clinic cum Training and Research Centre (Shatin District) has engaged in several randomized controlled trials over the past decade to build clinical evidence for Chinese medicine approaches. These trials include investigating the efficacy of acupuncture for neck & heel pain, post-stroke dysphagia, and smoking cessation. The results of these studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals, contributing to the evidence-based Chinese medicine.
The neck pain study, published in PLOS One in 2017, demonstrated the effectiveness of abdominal acupuncture for reducing neck pain intensity and improving quality of life, with sustained effects observed at follow-up; while the heel pain study, published in Acupuncture in Medicine in 2020, found that electro-acupuncture plus warm needling led to greater improvements in pain and foot function compared to controls, with improvements lasted until week 8 post-treatment.
Additionally, the post-stroke dysphagia study, published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2020, showed that acupuncture in addition to the conventional supportive and rehabilitative treatment improved swallowing function and quality of life of post-stroke dysphagia patients; while the smoking cessation study, published in Chinese Medicine in 2022, indicated acupuncture combined with auricular acupressure could achieve a nearly 50% cessation rate at week 24 with reduced nicotine dependence and improved well-being.
These four rigorous randomized controlled trials have provided additional scientific evidence for Chinese medicine approaches. The findings are being applied in clinical practice at the Centre to benefit more patients. The trials have strengthened the Centre's research capacity and competency in evidence-based Chinese medicine.
