As evidence mounts that acupuncture may be an effective remedy for pain, and entire classes of pain medications come under fire for raising cardiac risks, chronic pain sufferers everywhere are probably wondering if it's time to try this ancient Chinese treatment.

"Yes," says Kathleen Golden, acting chair of the Acupuncture Society of New York and faculty member of New York's Tri-State College of Acupuncture. Acupuncture can be used for any medical condition as a primary or complementary treatment, she adds. Martha Grout, MD, an acupuncturist and former ER doc, says patients with an acute physical problem that doesn't seem to be improving should "go for it."

You would not be alone if you did. Three out of every four adults have used some type of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM), such as acupuncture, and most of them have done so within the past year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest report. In fact, nearly 20 percent of hospitals offer CAM therapies, revealed a recent Health Forum/American Hospital Association survey, and acupuncture is among the most common.

Grout, president of the Arizona chapter of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, investigated the use of acupuncture among emergency room patients in a 2002 Journal of Medical Acupuncture study. She found that it was feasible to perform the treatment ‑- even in the ER ‑- and effective, especially for headache or back pain.