A new study on acupuncture – the most rigorous and detailed treatment analysis to date – shows that acupuncture can relieve migraines, arthritis and other forms of chronic pain. The finding provides strong scientific support for this ancient treatment, which is estimated to reach approximately 3 million Americans each year. Although acupuncture has been studied for decades, it has mostly been small, low-quality studies, thus throwing such medical research into disarray. The new study, more than five years old and funded by the National Institutes of Health, analyzed data from earlier studies covering nearly 18,000 patients. The researchers have published the results in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2012, showing that acupuncture outperforms comfort therapy and standard care in patients with osteoarthritis, migraines, and chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain.