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Biomedical subjects

Mike Cummings

Publications and source records attributed to Mike Cummings.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Acupuncture for acute postoperative pain relief in a patient with pregnancy-induced thrombocytopenia--a case report.

A 39 year old woman, scheduled for elective caesarean section in her second pregnancy, developed thrombocytopenia. Therefore, at the time of surgery, spinal anaesthesia and non-steroidal analgesic drugs were avoided and she was given a standard general anaesthetic procedure including fentanyl 100 microg and morphine 10 mg. In the early postoperative period she received tramadol 100 mg and a further 10 mg of morphine. These drugs did not control her pain, but caused side effects--in particular nausea and retching. Acupuncture to LI4 and PC6 on the right side produced dramatic pain relief within minutes.

Acupuncture Analgesia↗
PubMed2004

Education, training and continuing professional development in medical acupuncture--a contemporary overview.

Most medical and complementary medicine practitioners will have some awareness of the government-driven requirement to set and maintain explicit standards for education and professional development. For many doctors, revalidation has become a concern because they worry that it will raise the requirements for practice and increase bureaucratic documentation in support of the process. For those who have integrated complementary practices into their work within the National Health System, issues of registration and regulation add a further complication. The publication of the Department of Health consultation document on proposals for statutory regulation of herbal medicine and acupuncture in March 2004 raises issues of particular significance for medically qualified practitioners (such as 'medical acupuncturists'), and other health professionals whose practice includes complementary skills. This paper focuses on the educational implications of these recent developments and offers an informed perspective that includes a reflection on how education and training (as initial training and as continuing professional development) can best meet the needs of acupuncture practitioners in this fast-changing environment.

Acupuncture↗
PubMed2004

BMAS policy statements in some controversial areas of acupuncture practice.

The safe and competent practice of acupuncture requires the practitioner to conform to a number of basic principles. These include minimising the risk of transmission of infection, maintaining sufficient knowledge of anatomy to guide safe needling, and seeking an orthodox medical diagnosis before embarking on treatment. Beyond these basic principles, there are certain circumstances in practice that generate regular debate amongst practitioners. This article details advice on a limited selection of such circumstances. This advice has been drawn from a set of policy statements originally drafted to facilitate clarity and consistency within the teaching of Western medical acupuncture provided by the BMAS. It is not comprehensive, but covers the areas where there were the greatest differences in approach among the teaching staff. The original policy statements were also incorporated into the BMAS Code of Practice. By using the guidance in this article, in addition to applying sound clinical judgement and a knowledge of relevant anatomy, we hope that practitioners will minimise both the theoretical risks and the reported serious adverse events related to acupuncture, yet be able to practise unencumbered by illogical restrictions.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2004

Low back pain assessment for the medical acupuncturist.

Low back pain frequently presents to medical acupuncturists, many of whom are general practitioners working in the public sector. Under these circumstances there is often limited time to devote to an initial assessment of a patient's presenting complaint. This paper presents an assessment process that is aimed at informing management decisions for medical acupuncturists, although much of the process may be useful to a wider range of practitioners. The assessment is divided into an initial screening procedure, and a further more detailed assessment. The initial screening procedure can usefully be applied in a brief consultation. Using this assessment tool, practitioners with medical acupuncture training will be able to select the cases most likely to be helped by their acupuncture skills.

Acupuncture↗
PubMed2003

Anatomy for the acupuncturist--facts & fiction. 1: The head and neck region.

Knowledge of anatomy, and the skill to apply it, is arguably the most important facet of safe and competent acupuncture practice. The authors believe that an acupuncturist should always know where the tip of their needle lies with respect to the relevant anatomy so that vital structures can be avoided and the intended target for stimulation can be reached.

Acupuncture↗
PubMed2003

Referred knee pain treated with electroacupuncture to iliopsoas.

This is a case report of a 33-year-old woman who presented with an eight year history of deep left knee pain. The pain was originally diagnosed as deriving from osteoarthrosis of the hip secondary to dysplasia, however, the same pain returned at seven months, and again at 10 months, after successful hip resurfacing arthroplasty. Six to eight weeks after the start of the second relapse of referred knee pain, the patient sought acupuncture treatment at the British Medical Acupuncture Society's London Teaching Clinic. A single myofascial trigger point was found in iliopsoas that reproduced the patient's pain. It was successfully treated with two sessions of electroacupuncture applied directly to the point. Pain referral to the knee from trigger points in the upper part of rectus femoris is well recognised, however, this pattern of referral from iliopsoas has not been described previously.

Acupuncture Points↗
PubMed2003

Acupuncture for low back pain in pregnancy.

Medical doctors are particularly cautious about using acupuncture in pregnancy. This derives from the mostly historical and anecdotal claims that acupuncture can promote abortion, coupled with the fact that spontaneous early pregnancy loss is common, and litigation is increasing. This case report describes the circumstances that lead to the author using deep paraspinal and periosteal acupuncture throughout a patient's pregnancy to help control her low back pain.

Acupuncture Points↗
PubMed2003

Myofascial pain from pectoralis major following trans-axillary surgery.

This is the first reported description, to the author's knowledge, of myofascial pain occurring at a surgical drain site. The patient consulted a medical acupuncturist after suffering five months of continuous chest and arm pain associated with 'tingling' in the forearm and hand. She had undergone trans-axillary resection of the first left rib following a left axillary vein thrombosis 18 months previously. Her symptoms had been principally attributed to nerve traction at surgery or nerve root entrapment from scar tissue. However, the drain passed through the free border of pectoralis major, and the myofascial trigger point that appeared to develop as a result of the muscle trauma, or the pain at that site, presented as a chronic and complex post-surgical pain problem. The pain and tingling resolved completely after two sessions of dry needling at a single myofascial trigger point in the free border of the left pectoralis major muscle.

Acupuncture Analgesia↗
PubMed2003

Anatomy for the acupuncturist--facts & fiction 2: The chest, abdomen, and back.

Anatomy knowledge, and the skill to apply it, is arguably the most important facet of safe and competent acupuncture practice. The authors believe that an acupuncturist should always know where the tip of their needle lies with respect to the relevant anatomy so that vital structures can be avoided and so that the intended target for stimulation can be reached. This article reviews clinically relevant anatomy for somatic needling of the chest and abdomen.

Abdomen↗
PubMed2003

Anatomy for the acupuncturist--facts & fiction. 3: Upper & lower extremity.

Anatomy knowledge, and the skill to apply it, is arguably the most important facet of safe and competent acupuncture practice. The authors believe that an acupuncturist should always know where the tip of their needle lies with respect to the relevant anatomy so that vital structures can be avoided and so that the intended target for stimulation can be reached. This article describes the anatomy of the upper limb and shoulder girdle, and lower limb and pelvis, relevant to safe needling practice.

Acupuncture Points↗
PubMed2002

Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture: the STRICTA recommendations.

Acupuncture treatment and control group interventions in parallel-group randomized trials of acupuncture are not always precisely reported. In an attempt to improve standards, an international group of experienced acupuncturists and researchers devised a set of recommendations, designating them STRICTA: STandards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture. In a further consensus-building round, the editors of several journals helped redraft the recommendations. These follow the Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials (CONSORT) format, acting as an extension of the CONSORT guidelines for the specific requirements of acupuncture studies. Participating journals are publishing the STRICTA recommendations and requesting prospective authors to adhere to them when preparing reports for publication. Other journals are invited to adopt these recommendations. The intended outcome is that interventions in controlled trials of acupuncture will be more adequately reported, thereby facilitating an improvement in critical appraisal, analysis and replication of trials.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2002

Standards for reporting interventions in controlled trials of acupuncture: The STRICTA recommendations. STandards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trails of Acupuncture.

Acupuncture treatment and control group interventions in parallel-group randomised trials of acupuncture are not always precisely reported. In an attempt to improve standards, an international group of experienced acupuncturists and researchers devised a set of recommendations, designating them STRICTA: STandards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture. In a further consensus-building round, the editors of several journals helped redraft the recommendations. These follow the Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials (CONSORT) format, acting as an extension of the CONSORT guidelines for the specific requirements of acupuncture studies. Participating journal editors are publishing the STRICTA recommendations and requesting prospective authors to adhere to them when preparing reports for publication. Other journals are invited to adopt these recommendations. The intended outcome is that interventions in controlled trials of acupuncture will be more adequately reported, thereby facilitating an improvement in critical appraisal, analysis and replication of trials.

Acupuncture Therapy↗