title: Does acupuncture help in helping the ones you cannot help? The role of acupuncture in facilitating adaptive processes.
abstract: In the public funded healthcare arena, acupuncture is delivered with 'disease' as the defining label that grants access to funding. This funding process is regulated by recommendations derived from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials. However, 'off-label' use of acupuncture, outside established indications like pain or nausea, happens frequently, though there is a paucity of data about this situation. The case of a young man with weakness and fatigue as residuum of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis highlights the situation. His treatment goal was well defined. Specific and non-specific needling effects and the provider-patient relationship are explored. The role of technological and adaptive processes in the treatment of long-term conditions, the effect of somatosensory stimulation on different levels and the implication for funding are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Sciences, Barts and the London School for Medicine and Dentistry, 2 Newark Street, London, UK. j.foell@qmul.ac.uk
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Foell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015671:Electroacupuncture / Q000379:methods*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007866:Leg; D008297:Male; D020528:Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Progressive / Q000150:complications / Q000451:nursing / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011788:Quality of Life