{"id":55059,"date":"2022-11-11T09:30:40","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T14:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=55059"},"modified":"2025-11-29T11:12:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T16:12:54","slug":"acupuncture-for-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/acupuncture-for-diabetes\/","title":{"rendered":"Does acupuncture for diabetes work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than <\/span>38 million<\/span> people in the United States, or 11.6% of the population, are living with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Some of them are turning to complementary and alternative medicine for treatment or wellness purposes\u2014or both. In fact, a\u00a0 study in the <\/span>Journal of Diabetes<\/span><\/i> found that <\/span>26.2%<\/span> of adults with diabetes reported giving complementary medicine a try.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of them may be trying acupuncture to help them manage their blood sugar levels or symptoms\u2014or just feel better. After all, the World Health Organization <\/span>notes<\/span> that acupuncture is increasingly used in clinical settings around the world. But it\u2019s important to understand the existing research and evidence and have realistic expectations before you decide to try acupuncture for diabetes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is acupuncture?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Acupuncture is a practice within traditional Chinese medicine that involves the insertion of tiny needles into various points around the body. It\u2019s been used for more than 2,500 years to address a multitude of health conditions, and its use has been on the rise in the United States in recent years, too. A national survey found a <\/span>50%<\/span> jump in acupuncture users in the U.S. between 2002 and 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, acupuncture is already used to help relieve pain from a number of conditions, including osteoarthritis and postoperative pain, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). It\u2019s also been used to help people with health conditions ranging from asthma to rhinitis to stress incontinence in women, although the NCCIH cautions that some studies have produced low-quality evidence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Acupuncture and diabetes<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you are looking for some relief from symptoms related to having diabetes, acupuncture could be an option to consider. Blake Estape, an acupuncturist with <\/span>Miami Acupuncture and Herbal Solutions<\/span><\/a>, explains that acupuncture does seem to help some of his clients with diabetes, including the management of symptoms such as <\/span>diabetic neuropathy<\/span><\/a> and fatigue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> published in the <\/span>Journal of Diabetes<\/span><\/i>\u00a0needle acupuncture did help adult patients with Type 2 diabetes who were affected by diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) when compared with placebo treatment. The researchers noted that this information could be useful because of the existing lack of disease-modifying therapies for DPN.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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