Editor’s Note: This is the latest article in a new column from the Society for Acupuncture Research (www.acupunctureresearch.org) offering research insights relevant to acupuncture practitioners.
For novel health challenges such as COVID-19 – as well as non-mainstream therapies such as acupuncture, which may be seen as “novel” despite their long history, case studies and series are critically important in documenting the methods and results of individual patient encounters. The more such studies are published, the better grounded research protocols can be in actual clinical practice, which improves the quality of the evidence base for guiding practice as well as policy.
The individual and societal burden of long COVID is well-known, with more than 5% of the U.S. population actively experiencing over 200 distinct symptoms, most commonly including brain fog, dizziness, post-exertional malaise, shortness of breath, anxiety, depression, headache, and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Biomedical understanding and symptom management options are limited, typically consisting of an individualized package of physical, occupational, pulmonary, and mental health therapies.
Whole systems of medicine, including Eastern Asian medicine (EAM), include a whole-person approach to care and multiple therapeutic approaches such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, qigong (breathing and exercise), and dietary and lifestyle modifications. They are therefore well-suited to meeting multiple individual needs within one therapeutic relationship.
Study Overview
The referenced article describes four cases whose COVID sequelae were effectively resolved with use of “classical Chinese medicine,” a descriptor used variously by different parties to distinguish their approach from Korean and Japanese historical approaches, and also from “traditional Chinese medicine” (TCM), a codification of Chinese medical practice conducted in the mid-20th century.
The authors specify use of “cold damage” and “warm disease” theoretical frameworks, as well as lenses of Chinese medical neurology “wai ke” and a four-stage progression theory “bian hua,” both cited to the work of Jeffrey Yuen. The paper also draws intriguing parallels between biomedical disease constructs (e.g., neurological dysfunction) and EAM constructs (e.g., internal wind).
Key Findings
An excellent table compares and contrasts the four patients, ranging from 35-73 years of age, with duration of illness 5-12 months. Affected systems and symptoms included pulmonary, fatigue and pain (all four patients), cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and neurological (two each), and endocrine (one patient). Number of acupuncture treatments ranged from nine to 23.
All patients made lifestyle changes which included dietary change to reduce damp and heat, and herbal medicine was given to all but the patient who recovered fastest. All patients reported complete or near-complete resolution, with the two younger patients returning to work and the two retired patients recovering previous levels of daily activity.
All patients’ pattern diagnoses included mixed deficiency and stagnation with heat impacting different organs and vital substances, notably damage to yin/fluids.
Clinical Relevance for Acupuncture Practitioners
Readers of this study, particularly those who have not themselves treated long COVID, will find representative and helpful discussions of the pattern, symptoms and recovery picture. Also interesting are discussions of biomedical and classical Chinese medicine symptom analyses.
Conclusion
While of course these four successful cases do not constitute statistical evidence of effectiveness, this case series can be a useful resource for practitioners.
Reference
- Kazal J, Huyck K, Kelly B. Long covid response to classical Chinese medicine. Medicine, 2025;24:16-24.
