Acupuncture is a combination of acupuncture and moxibustion. In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture or fire moxibustion upon acupoints is used to treat diseases, and represents a ‘human intangible cultural heritage’ recognised by the UNESCO. According to the TCM theory, the flow of Qi within the meridians can be improved by stimulating acupuncture points. Modern science has not found the existence of qi, meridians or acupuncture points in histology and physiology and certain contemporary acupuncture users do not practice according to the traditional theoretical system. Due to the lack of sufficient evidence to confirm its validity, acupuncture is often regarded as an alternative therapy and even a  pseudoscience in certain countries. The theory and practice of TCM is not based upon the theories of Western medicine, but is characterised by quack doctors through the viewpoints of some Western medicine. Studies have shown that the validity and theory of acupuncture are not sufficient enough to establish clinical relationships, and there are difficulties in determining the placebo effect of acupuncture experiments. For example, acupuncture pain can have an effect on DNIC, but creating a control group proves a problem, most of which are invalid. 

The design of the acupuncture group (placebo group) is considered to be problematic, as it difficult to clearly distinguish the placebo effect and thus the conclusion of the research may be due to a placebo effect, an incomplete double-blind experiment or publication bias. However, in recent years, Germany, European and American countries have published a number of papers on the clinical effects of acupuncture and moxibustion. The book ‘Anatomy Train,’ has found that fascia has many similarities with acupuncture meridians. Many studies have begun to believe that fascia is the medium for acupuncture to transmit signals. Moreover, the addition of TCM and acupuncture departments in large hospitals situated in the United States to promote research show that the principles and clinical effects of acupuncture still require the intervention of more research methods.