· Their physical symptoms were relieved 75% of the time, and

· Their emotional and mental symptoms 67% of the time.

· In addition, 54% felt "inner life changes," and

· 27% experienced "major life changes."

42% of the patients changed their reason for coming at some point during the course of their treatment.

(The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2001 7(3):261-8.)

Data from a 2004 U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services report analyzed responses from a much larger group of Americans (31,044), and found that only 4% had ever tried acupuncture. Still, the same data shows that acupuncture is slightly more popular than homeopathy, four times more popular than naturopathy, and ten times more popular than ayurveda

(Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002. Adv Data. 2004 May 27;(343):1-19.)

According to a 1998 survey of the literature published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Western medical doctors are most likely to refer patients for acupuncture (43%) than for chiropractic (40%) or massage (21%).

(A review of the incorporation of complementary and alternative medicine by mainstream physicians. Arch Intern Med. 1998 Nov 23;158(21):2303-10. )

For more on this, read former JAMA editor George Lundberg MD's book, ‘Severed Trust:Why American Medicine Hasn't Been Fixed.’