Acupuncture, Trigger Points and Musculoskeletal Pain: A Scientific Approach to Acupuncture

"Apart from the actual techniques of treatment, I find this book to be very well written, and to give a detailled description on the history, and most of all, the physiology of acupuncture. The description of the trigger points is not so concise and schematic as it could be."
~ Written on 2007-11-19

"This textbook, first published in 1989, offers a scientific review of acupunture in the relief of musculoskeletal pain. Part one gives an historical background to traditional Chinese acupuncture and how it was cautiously adopted in the west during the 19th century. The second part of the book deals with the principles of "trigger point acupuncture", where needles are inserted over tender spots in muscles and around ligaments and bones, in order to "deactivate" them. The final part deals with the practical application of these techniques in various sites of the body.

There are numerous references to clinical trials, though most of them seem to date back many years. Chapter 6 deals with the neurophysiology of pain, which I have not wrestled with since my undergraduate days, and it's quite heavy going. Similarly the (necessarily) detailed discussion of the muscular anatomy is not for the casual reader.

Dr Baldry discusses the causes and treatment of low-back pain in Chapter 17, and begins with the rather dogmatic statement that "it is essential in all cases to measure the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and to have radiographs..... of the spine". I doubt if many family doctors seeing a young adult with acute back pain would do these investigations unless the history or clinical signs suggested serious pathology. This minor quibble apart, this is an interesting (if sometimes ponderous) insight into the scientific aspects of acupuncture.

Dr John H. Clark, General Practitioner, UK"
~ Written on 1999-07-18