Acupuncture(针灸), a Chinese practice thought to be around 3,000 years old, involves sticking needles into certain points on the body in order to promote the proper flow of qi(气（生命能量）), the body’s vital energy. Although long pooh-poohed(轻视，嗤之以鼻) by Western medicine, its popularity(受欢迎，流行) continues to rise.
针灸是一种约有3000年历史的中医疗法，通过将针刺入身体的特定穴位来促进气（身体的生命能量）的顺畅流动。尽管长期以来被西方医学嗤之以鼻，但它的受欢迎程度持续上升。
Models and influencers tout(吹捧，兜售) its anti-ageing effects, and athletes including Serena Williams, a former tennis pro, and Tom Brady, a retired American football player, claim the needles have helped them with muscle recovery. Today acupuncture is used to alleviate(缓解，减轻) ailments ranging from anxiety and asthma to infertility and irritable bowel syndrome(肠易激综合征). But does it do any good?
模特和网红们吹捧其抗衰老效果，包括前网球职业选手塞雷娜·威廉姆斯和退役美式足球运动员汤姆·布雷迪在内的运动员声称这些针帮助他们恢复肌肉。如今针灸被用来缓解从焦虑、哮喘到不孕和肠易激综合征等各种疾病。但这真的有用吗？
On some fronts(方面，领域), the evidence in favour is strong. In 2018 a study in the Journal of Pain analysed the results of 39 randomised trials(随机对照试验) on 20,827 patients with shoulder pain, chronic musculoskeletal pain, headaches or osteoarthritis(骨关节炎). All the patients had undergone either traditional acupuncture, sham acupuncture(假针灸（安慰剂对照）) (a range of placebo controls including the shallow insertion of needles) or no acupuncture at all. When patients assessed their symptoms more than four weeks after initial treatment, acupuncture users reported less pain than those in the other groups. The benefits had not faded by much(没有消退太多) a year later.
在某些方面，支持的证据很有力。2018年《疼痛杂志》上的一项研究分析了39项随机试验，涉及20,827名患有肩痛、慢性肌肉骨骼疼痛、头痛或骨关节炎的患者。所有患者都接受了传统针灸、假针灸（一系列安慰剂对照，包括浅刺）或完全不针灸。在初始治疗四周以上后，患者评估自己的症状时，针灸组报告的痛苦比其它组少。一年后效果也没有消退太多。