What is the scientific status of the conditions that can be treated with the various needling techniques? The dominant frame for the recommendations section of conditions to be treated with the different needling techniques used on this website is the EBM(Evidence Baed Medicine) model.
The EBM model defines a hierarchy of ‘levels of evidence’ and the corresponding presciptions in national guidelines for clinicians.
At the conditions part of this website we included three sources of recommendations:
1. National guidelines: the ultimate source for clinical decision making are the national guidelines with highest level of evidence available. Comprised by expert teams of the specific field.
2. Cochrane database: The Cochrane Library is a collection of six databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making.
3. Theory based: each needling technique finds it’s explanation in a theory. On base of this theory the conditions or diseases to be treated can be concluded. E.g. when the manipulation of the needle elicites endorfine release, it can be concluded that this has a painkilling effect.
Critics to the EBM model are numerous. Especially for hands on therapeutic systems like acupuncture or needling. The ultimate challenge of needling concepts or the science of needling will be to perform basic science: relations between theory and manipulations of the needle.
Disclaimer: responsibilities of therapeutic choices lie completely to the practitioner; The information on this website can be viewed as a summary of the available literature and a guide throughout the vast amount of publications in the field of acupuncture and needling.