Acupuncture point injection with placental extract improves pain and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome

Abstract

Context: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) can seriously affect the quality of patient lives due to chronic widespread pain. One of treatment strategies for the management of FMS is complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments including acupuncture. A new acupuncture therapy, acupuncture point injection (API) that combines acupuncture and medication is recently used in China and Korea to accomplish more effective therapeutic outcomes. Yet, there is no attempt to investigate the effect of API with placental extract on the treatment of FMS.Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of API with placental extract on pain reduction and life quality in patients with FMS.Methods: This is a retrospective study analyzing medical records.Setting: Clinical setting.Participants: Participants were 64 patients at the clinic being treated for FMS, at an average age of 46 having symptom duration from 6 months to 2 years. Intervention: Placental extract was weekly injected into acupuncture points GB21, SI11, SI13, SI14, Ex-HN15, and BL13 for five weeks to the participants. Outcome measures:The primary outcome, pain, was measured on a VAS scale. Secondary outcomes, sleep disorder and daily workable hours without break, were evaluated using questionnaire.Results: After APIs with placental extract for five weeks, pain and sleep discomfort were substantially decreased. Patients also displayed elongated productive times which denote workable hours to maintain daily activity without pain-evoked break after the API treatment. Conclusion:We suggest that API with placental extracts is a safe and promising treatment for FMS. A larger follow-up trial is needed to determine more definitely the efficacy of API with placental extract.

A Case Report on Intravenous Infusion of Placental Extract in Fibromyalgia Management

“…PE was verified to decrease symptoms of fatigue and increase the resistance to physical stress in animals and humans [2,12]. Besides, we observed the acupuncture point injection of PE ameliorated pain and quality of life in knee arthritis and FMS patients [1,13]. Studies in FMS patients demonstrated that chronic persistent pain, poor sleep quality, depressed mood, anxiety, and combinations of these were associated with fatigue [14,15].…”

“…Its pathophysiology still remains a mystery. Diverse treatment strategy including pharmacological therapies, non-pharmacological conventional therapies, and complementary and alternative medicine therapies has been used for the management of FMS.Previously, we reported acupuncture point injection of placenta extract (PE) in FMS patients relieved pain, ameliorated sleep disorder, and increased daily productive time [1].Experimental studies on the effect of PE on behavior and physical condition in the animal model showed decrease in symptoms of fatigue and increased resistance to physical stress [2].…”