Swedish researchers have discovered acupuncture can help relieve the pelvic pain women suffer with during pregnancy.

Pelvic pain during pregnancy is among the common causes why women take sick leave and nearly a third of pregnant women suffer with the problem.

This latest study involved over 100 pregnant women who were assigned either traditional acupuncture treatment with exercise and advice or sham acupuncture treatment which involves the use of blunt needles. With sham acupuncture, the blunt needles are delivered onto the skin through a handle but there is no penetration.

After an eight week period, levels of pelvic pain fell significantly for both groups. Researchers believe the effect of a needle even touching the skin stimulates the senses which in turn triggers nerve fibres. This process leads to a positive psychological response, even with blunted needles, that can help to ease pain.

The results of the study did highlight that those participants receiving traditional acupuncture treatment were able to continue with their day jobs and also showed significant improvement in their ability to perform day-to-day tasks over those who had the sham acupuncture.

Researchers concluded that penetration by the needle did contribute to the beneficial effects of acupuncture over non-penetration.

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