Acupuncture is perhaps best known for it's treatment of chronic pain.  According to Daniel Mazanec, M.D. "over a million Americans are treated with acupuncture annually for musculoskeletal disorders including back pain and Fibromyalgia."  The most common conditions seen in most acupuncture offices are back pain, sciatica, headaches, arthritis and fibromyalgia. The NIH stated that acupuncture was a reasonable treatment alternative for chronic back pain sufferers.  Many M.D.'s refer patients for acupuncture.  A recent survey reports 69% of pain specialists have referred patients for acupuncture.  There are many studies supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture for pain.  Below are summaries of a few of the more recent studies. Dr. Richard Grew studied 74 patients with chronic pain.  75% of those who received acupuncture reported a greater than 50% reduction in pain relief. The May 2004 edition of Acupuncture Today states "A new report published in the online version of the British Medical Journal has found that acupuncture is a useful, cost-effective treatment for chronic headaches, particularly migraines.  The report found that over a 12 month period, headache patients who received regular acupuncture sessions reported fewer headaches, had a higher quality of life, missed fewer days from work, used less medication, and made fewer visits to a general practicioner than patients given standard treatment for headaches."+++info on meds The Hanover Medical School evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture for tennis elbow.  Patients were divided into two groups, one which received ten real acupuncture treatments and the other received ten sham acupuncture treatments.  The study concluded that two weeks after the end of treatments the group that received real acupuncture treatments demonstrated significantly more improvement in strength, pain intensity and arm function than the sham group.  Feb. 2003 Journal of C.Medicine The U.K. Complementary Health Care Conference, Dec. 5, 2002 after reviewing the evidence concluded that acupuncture can help relieve a number of symptoms suffered by those with cancer.  Treatments with acupuncture prior to surgery relieves the need to top-up anesthetics and reduces post operative pain.  Studies show that acupuncture can also relieve cancer pain, breathlessness and nausea and vomiting.