This study evaluated 15 whiplash patients with balance disorders by means of computerized static posturography, before and after acupuncture treatment. These patients were compared to another group of 17 whiplash patients who were treated with drugs and physiotherapy.
Acupuncture treatment consisted of three sessions, spaced one week apart. Both groups were tested by posturography once per week. Treatment was applied to the acupuncture points Bladder 10 and Gall Bladder 20—both of these points are in the occipital region of the neck.
When the data for both groups were compared, the researchers found that the acupuncture treated patients had significantly better results on the objective posture tests. The researchers suggest that the acupuncture treatment modulates the proprioceptive pathways from the cervical spine—a condition which is lately receiving considerable attention as a major factor in whiplash injury. (See STR Vol. 1, #4; Vol. 1, #10.)
Fattori B, Borsari C, Vannucci G, et al. Acupuncture treatment for balance disorders following whiplash injury. International Journal of Acupuncture and Electro-Therapeutics Research 1996;21:207-217.