Robert Davis – Society for Acupuncture Research – #6

 

Robert Davis is one of two co-presidents of the Society For Acupuncture Research. Robert Davis received a Masters of Science in acupuncture and oriental medicine from Southwest Acupuncture College, Santa Fe in 1999. He is board certified in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine and maintains a clinical practice in South Burlington, Vermont. He served as the President of the Vermont Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from 2001 – 2006. He is currently the CEO of Stromatec, Inc., a medical device R&D company developing quantitative tools and “know how” to researchers and clinicians in the areas of acupuncture needling techniques and connective tissue physiology and pathology. He has served as the Principle Investigator for six National Institute of Health SBIR grants.

Why you should listen – In this episode of Needle Chat, Robert talks about the Society for Acupuncture Research, what it is, it’s goals, what it has accomplished so far and the future of Acupuncture and SAR. Also, Robert touches on the issues of quality in research coming out of Asia, and the final word on Acupuncture for chronic pain.

0m 0s – Robert Davis introduction.

1m 46s – What is the Society for Acupuncture Research?

• NIH (National Institute of Health)

4m 13s – How Robert got involved with SAR and his role as co-president

• University of Vermont – College of Medicine

6m 15s – How does SAR plan to strengthen evidence informed practice?

• SAR white papers and evidence based assessments
  • Paradoxes in Acupuncture Research: Strategies for Moving Forward
  • Manual and Electrical Needle Stimulation in Acupuncture Research: Pitfalls and Challenges of Heterogeneity
  • Evidence based assessments – preview

12m 30s – Differences between SAR and ANF (Acupuncture Now Foundation)

• Interview with Matthew Bauer

16m 30s – Why Acupuncturists should care about SAR and/or acupuncture research?

20m 14s – Why do the majority of studies evaluate Zang-fu style Acupuncture?

23m 05s – How do we address the issue of low-quality research coming out of Asia, especially China?

• Quality assessment of reporting of randomization, allocation concealment, and blinding in traditional chinese medicine RCTs

29m 50s – What are some other areas of quality in acupuncture research that need to be addressed?

31m 50s – Why are RCTs coming out of the west showing less efficacy in sham controlled trials?

• Vickers et al – Acupuncture for Chronic Pain

35m 20s – What are some better ways of reducing the likelihood of false negatives in trials?

37m 12s – Role of Acupuncture in integrative medicine, is it under utilized?

39m 18s – What Robert would like to see for the future of acupuncture and SAR

46m 27s – Final thoughts from Robert

• SAR’s 2015 conference in Boston

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