Acupuncture in post herpetic neuralgia

Post herpetic neuralgia is a chronic neuropathic pain syndrome that it is characterized by pain in the area of ​​the nerve involved distribution after the disappearance of herpes zoster lesions and it may be persistent, refractory and severe. Various treatments including medication, Botox injections, nerve block and physical modalities have been used in the treatment of this syndrome, each has advantages and disadvantages. One of the most widely used methods today is the use of acupuncture. Acupuncture is a low-complication and reproducible treatment that is gaining more and more place in pain management, especially chronic pain. Studies have shown the effect of acupuncture on reducing pain in post-herpetic neuralgia patients. Different parts of acupuncture can be used to reduce pain. The recommended number of sessions is usually 10 to 12 sessions, lasting 20 to 30 minutes. Due to the beneficial effects of acupuncture and its low complication, this method is recommended as one of the treatment methods for postherpetic neuralgia. In this paper, we review the effect of acupuncture on post herpetic neuralgia.