Volume 8, Number 1 | Spring 2013

Conference Report
The 3rd JSAM International Symposium on Evidencebased Acupuncture – Evidence of the Effectiveness ofAcupuncture for Headache -Hitoshi Yamashita

Graduate School of Health Sciences,
Morinomiya University of Medical Sciences,Osaka, JapanOn June 7 and 8, 2012, the 3rd JSAM

headaches and the characteristics of headache
patients. Next, Prof. Byung-Cheul Shin (School ofKorean

Medicine,Pusan

NationalUniversity)

lectured on acupuncture and moxibustion therapy
for headaches in South Korea, followed by Ms. Mari
Suzuki (Saitama Medical University), who gave areport on acupuncture and moxibustion case series
studies in university hospitals in Japan.

Evidence-based

Session 2 was themed on acupuncture forAcupuncture was held at Yokkaichi Municipal

headaches. Prof. Benno Brinkhaus (Institute forCulture

SocialInternationalHall

SymposiuminMieon

Prefecture,under

theMedicine,Epidemiology

andHealthsponsorship of The Japan Society of Acupuncture

Economics, Charité University Medical Center)and Moxibustion (President: Shuji Goto). JSAM has

introduced the results of large-scale RCTs on

previously held its first international symposium in2006 themed on osteoarthritis of the knee, and thesecond symposium in 2009 themed on low back pain,
to promote understanding of the concept of evidence-

acupuncture for headache that was conducted inGermany, and gave his interpretation of the overall
evidence. Dr. Myeong Soo Lee (Korea Institute ofbased medicine (EBM) among its members, and to

Oriental Medicine) gave an outline of systematic

reinvigorate studies that present clinical evidence ofreviews of RCT papers on acupuncture for headache,acupuncture and moxibustion in Japan based on anand noted the problems in the quality of RCTs onawareness of the status of overseas studies. Thisacupuncture. Mr. Tomokazu Kikuchi (Saitama

third symposium was themed on headaches, and also

Medical University) mainly reported on the results

included a program for discussing sham acupuncture,
whichiscausing

acontroversy

about

theappropriateness of its control groups.
Pre-symposium lectures first introduced thefeatures of Japanese acupuncture to participantsfrom Japan and overseas. Based on surveys, six
speakers gave lectures on the present state ofacupuncture practice in Japan, the characteristics ofacupuncture patients, the history and present stateof pediatric acupuncture and meridian therapy, andan overview of Japanese acupuncture in Europe.
Session 1 began after the opening ceremony. Dr.
SakaiFumihiko(Saitama

NeuropsychiatricInstitute) and Prof. Hisaka Igarashi (Kanagawa
Dental College of Medicine Yokohama Clinic),
leading authorities on headache research in Japangave a presentation on the latest classification of

20of a basic research on acupuncture for primaryheadache conducted by the research team to which
he belongs.
In Session 3 held on the following day, Prof. Shoko
Masuyama (Morinomiya University of MedicalSciences) gave an overview of clinical trials ofacupuncture in Japan, and underlined some issues
on quality of the studies. Prof. Brinkhaus discussed
researchmethodologyinclinical

trialonacupuncture, and emphasized that the selection oftrial design and control group depends on theprimary research question. Mr. Yasuhisa Kaneko(Tokyo College of Medico-Pharmaco Technology)
introduced the thumbtack needle effect in the sports
field, followed by Prof. Kenji Kawakita (Meiji
University of Integrative Medicine), who explained
the mechanisms of physiological activities produced

The Journal of Kampo, Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine (KAIM)

Volume 8, Number 1 | Spring 2013by various sham interventions used in recent clinicalThe symposium underlined the importance oftrials of acupuncture, and logically emphasized thatorganizing

even shallow stimulations on the skin can have aworkshops and other similar opportunities in Japan

clinical effect. Lastly, Dr. Stephen Birch (Foundationin order to foment greater understanding offor the Study of Traditional East Asian Medicine,Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion.

Amsterdam)

pointedtothefactthat

moreinternational

symposiums,

shamacupuncture in RCTs are frequently misinterpreted
by reviewers and readers, although it is not a placebo
treatment, and expressed his concern that wrong
study designs are being selected for the relevant
research question.
In Japan, acupuncture and moxibustion havebeen utilized to treat diseases and maintain healthsince olden days as a matter of course, precisely
because they existed as traditional medicine. For
this reason, the idea of examining the evidence that
acupuncture and moxibustion are effective had
never emerged until recently. As a result, clinicalstudies that are conducted in Japan from thestandpoint of EBM have lagged behind foreigncountries. This symposium is thought to haveprovided a renewed awareness of this issue andothersuchissues

amongacupunctureandmoxibustion researchers and school teachers inJapan. It was particularly a large achievement that
acupuncture and moxibustion researchers andclinicians acquired a common understanding of theneedto

disseminatecharacteristics

ofinformationJapanese

about

the

acupunctureandmoxibustion and papers that introduce Japanese
acupuncture and moxibustion to the outside world,
as well as the need to more accurately evaluate theclinical effects and physiological activity of shamneedling that is used in the Western countries as aplacebo control group and the comprehensive clinicaleffects of acupuncture that includes not only specificeffects but also skin stimulation effects.

The Journal of Kampo, Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine (KAIM)

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