We expected the acupuncture to improve the pain. We didn't really expect the largest benefit to be in fatigue or anxiety.

There's not a cure available, so patients are often left somewhat frustrated by continuing pain and fatigue. Acupuncture is one of the few things shown to be effective for these symptoms. It may be particularly attractive to patients who are unable to take medications because of intolerable side effects.

We expected the acupuncture to improve the pain. We didn't really expect the largest benefit to be in fatigue or anxiety.

This doesn't surprise me, as we see this pattern in other chronic pain problems: you can relieve pain, but it's a lot harder to prompt activity changes. A chronically ill person needs more than symptom relief to resume a normal lifestyle. We're now beginning to work on that problem.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but aerobic exercise is an excellent way to counter fatigue.

I thought we showed a lot of tenacity coming back in the second period. Fatigue from last night may have been a factor for our poor third period.