Effect of acupuncture on disorders of musculoskeletal system in Nigerians.

Acupuncture was offered to patients with lesions affecting the locomotor system. These patients had received conventional physiotherapy treatment with limited success. The lesions treated by acupuncture were hemiplegia, low back pain, frozen shoulder, dropped foot, Sciatica, and arthritis of the knee and hip. Response to acupuncture was excellent in the more acute conditions of low back pain and frozen shoulder, where six treatment sessions were required for complete recovery. The more chronic conditions required many more treatment sessions and the improvement recorded was significant, though not complete. It was concluded that acupuncture has a valuable role to play in a physiotherapy department.