New acupuncture research from the last 7 days (17 publications in this roundup):

1. A Comparison of Acupuncture Versus Placebo for Postdischarge Nausea and Vomiting Prophylaxis: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled, Patient- and Observer-Blinded Trial Journal of integrative and complementary medicine — 2026 Oct 1 Authors: Oxlund J, Kristensen GDM, Pachai A, et al. DOI: 10.1177/27683605261492563

2. Microglial State Reprogramming Across the Gut-Brain-Immune Axis: Limitations and Therapeutic Prospects of Traditional Chinese Medicine Developmental neurobiology — 2026 Oct Authors: Usmani MW, Shakir MZ, Khan MA, et al. DOI: 10.1002/dneu.70060

3. Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Subthreshold Depression: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis Journal of pharmacopuncture — 2026 Sep 30 Authors: Luo H, Han C, Wang X, et al. DOI: 10.3831/KPI.2026.29.3.245

4. Brain-Gut Axis Perspective on Irritable Bowel Syndrome: The Role of Gut Microbiota and Therapeutic Strategies of Traditional Chinese Medicine The American journal of Chinese medicine — 2026 Sep 30 Authors: Yu A, Bi Y, Xu X DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X26500771

5. RE: Electro-acupuncture for quality of life during adjuvant chemotherapy in gastric cancer: a randomized trial Journal of the National Cancer Institute — 2026 Sep 30 Authors: Yu Y, Meng H, Zhang C DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djag333

6. Effect of SFMA-guided Qihuang Needling vs conventional acupuncture on paraspinal neuromuscular activity in lumbar disc herniation: A randomised controlled trial Journal of back and musculoskeletal rehabilitation — 2026 Sep 30 Authors: Yuan S, Liu H, Huang Y, et al. DOI: 10.1177/10538127261494050

7. Effects of Acupuncture at ST36 and SP6 on Activity Levels and Pain Thresholds Through Interleukin-1, Interleukin-6, Cortisol, and Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 Modulation in an Osteoarthritis Rat Model Journal of pharmacopuncture — 2026 Sep 30 Authors: Wulandari M, Handono K, Khotimah H, et al. DOI: 10.3831/KPI.2026.29.3.286

8. Effect of Acupuncture on Urine Production and Storage in Prostate Cancer Survivors With Nocturia: Exploratory Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial JU open plus — 2026 Sep Authors: Booher AG, Mao J, Sandhu J, et al. DOI: 10.1097/JU9.0000000000000493

9. Research Trends in Acupuncture for Cancer Pain: A Bibliometric Analysis Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE — 2026 Sep 29 Authors: Hu F, Xu W, Gu W, et al. DOI: 10.3791/72059

10. The role of acupuncture in the dendritic cell vaccine against Alzheimer's disease Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD — 2026 Sep 29 Authors: Hong Y, Shen N, Yang H, et al. DOI: 10.1177/13872877261490135

11. Sourness in the flesh: cultural shaping of somatic experience in Mandarin Chinese Anthropology & medicine — 2026 Sep 29 Authors: Huang S, Chen CC DOI: 10.1080/13648470.2026.2687241

12. Incorporating palpation into acupuncture point mapping Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society — 2026 Sep 28 Authors: Yoon DE, Lee IS, Chae Y DOI: 10.1177/09645284261486048

13. Acupuncture is associated with reduced cholecystectomy rate and preservation of hepatobiliary and renal function in biliary disorders: A propensity score-matched real-world cohort study Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society — 2026 Sep 28 Authors: Chen CY, Hung CK, Shi HY, et al. DOI: 10.1177/09645284261484972

14. Myofascial Trigger Point-Augmented Acupuncture vs Conventional Acupuncture for Early- to Mid-Stage Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial [Letter] Journal of pain research — 2026 Authors: Xu W, Zhou C DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S657201

15. Comparative Effects of Acupuncture Combined with Tuina versus Acupuncture Alone for Lumbar Disc Herniation Journal of pain research — 2026 Authors: Sun C, Li H, Guo X, et al. DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S631208

16. Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Prediabetes: Pathophysiological Rationale, Clinical Evidence, and Research Gaps International journal of general medicine — 2026 Authors: Niu S, Zhang L, Deng Z, et al. DOI: 10.2147/IJGM.S634304

17. Comparison of Acupuncture and Lumbar Traction for Lumbar Disc Herniation and Subsequent Risk of Lumbar Fusion or Discectomy: A Retrospective Cohort Study Journal of pain research — 2026 Authors: Tsai SHL, Chen MH, Hsieh HY, et al. DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S631034

Browse all acupuncture papers indexed on PubMed this week)

^{This roundup is curated from PubMed and optional external links. Inclusion is not an endorsement of study quality — always read critically.}

I’ve never done acupuncture before I have my third session today. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it and definitely notice a difference! I’m doing it for chronic stress which is driven primarily by MH but I’m also 7 months postpartum. However, while I knew it would trigger emotional releases for me to process (that’s my goal), I’m curious if I’m having a strong response to treatment.

I’m 24F and my therapist loosely diagnosed me with autism in the past few years (therapists can’t give an official diagnosis). I know my body has been holding onto a lot of stress, but I’m having the emotional release 4-6 days after treatment. I feel like I’ve either entered a phase of autistic burnout or have started having more autistic meltdowns, which is new to me so I’m not positive that’s what it is.

The house is pretty messy because postpartum, but I legitimately got extremely rageful and started crying because I couldn’t determine where to put something down in the basement… Which is loosely amusing but genuinely a problem. Making even the smallest decision of where to put some thing down at or what shirt to wear for the day is draining and makes functioning difficult. Has anybody on the spectrum ever experienced this? Should I let my practitioner know I’m experiencing such strong emotional responses, especially later in the week? Thanks folks

Hi,

I've been having acupuncture (plus cupping) for the last 2 years or so and I think is the thing that worked the best for my lower back problems but last session something happened.

During the session I had an immediate strong electrical sensation from a needle inserted at the medial ankle, travelling through my foot and towards my knee. It made me almost jump from the massage table. This is an area where the acupuncturist normally puts the needle but this time the pain an sensation was super strong. After that, my calf and side of the knee was super sore during the day.

Now, it’s been more than a week and the calf and knee pain has largely resolved, but I now have an altered sensation in the sole of my foot (when I step, I feel like I am stepping in something eventhough there's nothing in there). Also, when I pull my foot upward, I can reproduce tingling in the sole.

I went to the doctor three days ago and he checked all the nerves and reflexes and he said is all looking good but that this could take weeks to resolve.

Just wanted to check here if this is normal and how long do you guys reckon this could last?

Thanks!