Thyroid Disorders
Acupuncture for Thyroid Disorders
The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located at the front of the neck that secretes hormones to regulate the body's use of energy, metabolic processes and growth.
Around one in 20 people will experience some form of thyroid dysfunction in their lifetime and women are more likely to have an underactive thyroid.
The signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism vary from person to person and early symptoms can include weight gain and fatigue.
What Does The Research Say?
The following insights are obtained from scientific studies, systematic reviews and analysis of clinical trials investigating the efficacy of Acupuncture for Thyroid Disorders.
2021 Annals of Palliative Medicine
Chinese medicine could effectively improve thyroid function and the clinical symptoms of patients with diabetic nephropathy.
A meta-analysis conducted to evaluate the thyroid function of patients with DN found that it was impaired to varying degrees. Analysis of the clinical efficacy of TCM intervention in the treatment of DN showed that TCM could effectively improve the clinical symptoms of patients and improve the treatment effect. However, due to the small sample size, only the curative effect after the treatment was analyzed, and the long-term efficacy of TCM intervention in the treatment of DN remains unknown. Follow-up research of a higher quality involving larger samples, and multi-center RCT trials should be carried out to supplement the deficiencies of this research, and more accurately evaluate the clinical efficacy of TCM intervention in the treatment of DN.
Meta-analysis-based systematic review of effect of traditional Chinese medicine intervention in treatment of diabetic nephropathy on thyroid function Zhang X, Wu M, Zhou J, Zhou R, Luo Q, Yue R, Jin S.
2018 Journal of Integrative Medicine
Findings indicated reductions in patient symptoms and improvements in biomarkers where acupuncture was used alone or in combination therapy against thyroid-relevant illnesses.
Analysing 29 clinical projects that were retrieved from 29 major digital databases and include 1757 patients aged 7–79 years from China, Italy, Korea, Macedonia and Russia, this narrative review offers an overview of the efficacy, and evaluated the safe and cost-effective use of acupuncture against hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and thyroid-relevant illnesses. Findings indicated reductions in patient symptoms and improvements in biomarkers where acupuncture was used alone or in combination therapy. In addition to showing the role of acupuncture as an alternative and complementary medicine or as an adjunctive therapy for curative and rehabilitative purposes, more well-designed researches are needed to achieve reliable data.
An overview of the contribution of acupuncture to thyroid disorders Cheng, F.-K.
2016 Annals of Translational Medicine
Chinese medicine warming and invigorating drugs combined with levothyroxine may improve treatment of hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto disease more than levothyroxine alone.
This systematic review pooled several indices of hypothyroidism caused by HT according to “China’s Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Thyroid Disease†and correlation studies. The results showed that the combination of warming and invigorating drugs and levothyroxine increased FT3 and FT4 levels, and reduced TSH, TPOAb, and TGAb levels in patients with hypothyroidism cause by HT more than levothyroxine alone after treatments of 8 weeks or longer. With the exception of FT4, the results were stable.
In conclusion, we cautiously recommend prescribing warming and invigorating drugs along with levothyroxine for the treatment of hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto disease. However, high-quality evidence is needed to confirm these results. To guarantee evidence quality, a strict study design, which includes a large sample, an unbiased randomization method, full concealment, proper blinding, and appropriate statistical analyses, is vital. In addition, clinical curative effects of TCM, such as TCM syndromes, should be standardized and unified to reduce clinical heterogeneity and methodology heterogeneity. Finally, a strict registration system for clinical trials is required to remove reporting biases.
A systematic review of combinatorial treatment with warming and invigorating drugs and levothyroxine for hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto disease Xiangwen Cheng, Zixiao Wei, Guangde Zhang, Xin Shao, Bo Li, Rui Gao
2014 Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Chinese herbal medicine combined with western medicine used to treat subacute thyroiditis may improve clinical symptoms and signs, reduce relapse rate, and alleviate the side effects of hormones.
Twenty one studies were included. CHM was superior to Western Medicine (include prednisone and NSAIDs) in abating fever, relieving thyroid pain, recovering blood sedimentation, improving thyroid function, and preventing hypothyroidism (P<0.05), while no statistical differences were found in eliminating goiter and reducing relapse rate. chm plus western medicine superior to abating fever, relieving thyroid pain, goiter, rate, (p>0.05) were found in recovering blood sedimentation and improving thyroid function. The incidence of adverse reactions in treatment group was lower than that in control group (relative risk was 0.12 and 95% confidence interval was 0.03-0.51). The methodological quality of trials is generally poor with a high risk of bias.
Chinese herbal medicine for subacute thyroiditis: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials Hui Luo, Meng Lü, Xiaohua Pei, Zhongyuan Xia
Scientific References
Browse our collection of scientific research on Acupuncture for Thyroid Disorders. It includes recent and reputable papers published by peer-reviewed journals within the last 10 years.
2021, Jun 16
Meta-analysis-based systematic review of effect of traditional Chinese medicine intervention in treatment of diabetic nephropathy on thyroid function
Annals of Palliative Medicine
TCM intervention in DN is effective in treating the clinical symptoms of patients with this disease and has ideal therapeutic effects.
Zhang X, Wu M, Zhou J, Zhou R, Luo Q, Yue R, Jin S. Full Article
2020, Jun 8
Case report - Acupuncture treatment in patient with high TSH (thyroidstimulating hormone)
Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research
This case report showed that acupuncture is an effective treatment for patients with hypothyroidism due to high level of TSH. The treatments balances hormonal changes, maintain regular TSH levels and improve further endocrine functions.
Zhu, Jihe and Arsovska, Blagica and Kozovska, Kristina Full Article
2019, Apr 9
Case report: Acupuncture treatment in male patient with primary hypothyroidism
International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH
This case study showed effective results of acupuncture for hypothyroidism. The male patient reported to have reduced TSH levels, increased fT4, stopped gaining weight and balanced energy. Patient continued treatments for several months to further maintain thyroid production levels.
Zhu, Jihe and Arsovska, Blagica and Kozovska, Kristina Full Article
2018, Nov
An overview of the contribution of acupuncture to thyroid disorders
Journal of Integrative Medicine
The clinical study showed high effectiveness of acupuncture in treating thyroid disorders. Thyroid biomarkers and symptoms from hyperthyroidism/ hypothyroidism were significantly reduced with treatments. Patients also reported to have better sleep quality, digestion and emotional health. Acupuncture was also more effective in co-treatment with western medicine, and produced less side effects in the long run
Cheng, F.-K. Full Article
2016, Nov 23
A systematic review of combinatorial treatment with warming and invigorating drugs and levothyroxine for hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto disease
Annals of Translational Medicine
Warming and invigorating drugs combined with levothyroxine may improve treatment of hypothyroidism caused by HT more than levothyroxine alone based on the FT3, FT4, TSH, TPOAb, and TGAb results. Based on the low qualities of the included studies, further evidence is needed to confirm these conclusions.
Xiangwen Cheng, Zixiao Wei, Guangde Zhang, Xin Shao, Bo Li, Rui Gao Full Article
2016, Apr 4
Case Report: Acupuncture Treatment for Hypothyroidism
Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research
This case study showed that acupuncture regulate hypothyroid symptoms with balancing the immune system and autonomic nervous system. The Hashimoto patient managed to reduce intake of Eutirox (hormone replacement drug) while receiving treatments. She also reported to have better emotional health and quality of life.
Arsovska, Blagica and Zhu, Jihe and Kozovska, Kristina Full Article
2014, Dec 1
The effects of acupuncture after thyroid surgery: A randomized, controlled trial
Surgery Society of University Surgeons, Central Surgical Association, American Association of Endocrine Surgeons
This academic research showed high efficacy of acupuncture for pain relief after thyroid surgery. Patients with regular acupuncture treatments required less pain killers and experienced less side effects.
Iacobone M, Citton M, Zanella S, Scarpa M, Pagura G, Tropea S, Galligioni H, Ceccherelli F, Feltracco P, Viel G, Nitti D Full Article
2014, Jun
Chinese herbal medicine for subacute thyroiditis: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine The China Association of Chinese Medicine & Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
CHM (particularly CHM combined with Western Medicine) used to treat subacute thyroiditis may improve clinical symptoms and signs, reduce relapse rate, and alleviate the side effects of hormones. Due to poor methodological quality of included trials, further more high-quality studies are warranted to confirm the effectiveness and safety of CHM.
Hui Luo, Meng Lü, Xiaohua Pei, Zhongyuan Xia Full Article