Acupuncture research, most importantly, must allow the acupuncture to maintain its integrity as a powerful, holistic, individualized intervention, because otherwise what is being tested is not acupuncture. And many of these effectiveness studies that do allow acupuncture to be performed in a less fabricated way show amazing results.  So be a discerning reader when you come across a medical study on acupuncture, and remember that a circle should be measured as a circle…not as something that it is not.