Back in April of 2021 the National Insitute for Health and Care Excellence published Nice Guideline NG193 from which the following quote comes “The committee considered that the evidence base was large enough to justify a recommendation, and therefore agreed to recommend the use of acupuncture in clinical practice for people with chronic primary pain.”
We still have a way to go with some medical practices still handing out medication in the first instance, rather than considering a course of acupuncture. However, the guidence is quite clear “Evidence from this guideline has demonstrated that acupuncture is a clinically and cost effective treatment option for the management of chronic primary pain. This has therefore been recommended as an intervention that should be considered for this population.”