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Previously unknown dangers of acupuncture have been named
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Acupuncture is an unconventional or alternative method of treatment that has been used for several thousand years. This procedure originated in China and has been actively used in medicine.
Acupuncture, like yoga, is not so much a mechanism of influence on the human body as an ancient, established philosophical system.
Hundreds of NHS patients undergoing acupuncture treatment have suffered complications from the method.
Side effects of acupuncture include collapsed lungs, dizziness, and needles left in the body.
Scientists warn that acupuncture is not as safe a treatment as previously thought. In some cases, it can cause irreparable harm to health.
In the last two years alone, 325 complaints have been recorded from patients who have undergone treatment with “healing” acupuncture. This includes 100 cases where people forgot to remove all the needles from their bodies, 63 cases of loss of consciousness after a session, and 99 incidents where people felt weak and dizzy.
In addition, five patients developed pneumothorax – damage to the lung caused by a needle, in which air enters the pleural cavity, disrupting lung function. If the victim is not urgently hospitalized, such a session of health acupuncture can end in death.
"The adverse effects following acupuncture described in this study are generally uncommon and relatively mild, but there are good reasons to suspect that due to poor and incomplete reporting, the true extent of the problem is much greater," says complementary medicine professor and former homeopath Edzard Ernst.
Today, NHS doctors prescribe acupuncture to relieve lower back pain.
However, there are not only those who consider acupuncture a dangerous procedure, but also adherents of this method. Needle lovers claim that thanks to this treatment they got rid of excruciating migraines, allergies, toothache, got out of depression and even cured of infertility.
The therapeutic approach of acupuncture is formed outside the modern model of evidence-based medicine, therefore, at the moment, the World Health Organization is working to promote an evidence-based approach in assessing the effectiveness, quality and safety of alternative treatment methods.