Increasingly, mainstream doctors and medical institutions are accepting the practice of acupuncture, particularly for treatment of pain and nausea. A 2013 review, for example, found that acupuncture could reduce vomiting and nausea among patients receiving chemotherapy, according to Cancer Research UK. 

Research is ongoing into whether acupuncture can also help with other cancer treatment-related symptoms, including hot flashes, peripheral neuropathy and lymphoedema (swelling of the arm or hand), according to Bao.

The World Health Organization maintains an extensive list of diseases and conditions (mostly pain related) possibly treatable by acupuncture. Many doctors now do not discourage their patients from receiving acupuncture when conventional medicine fails them or when convention treatment entails too many adverse side effects.

There is a growing body of research exploring whether acupuncture also can be used to treat depression, sleep disturbances and drug addiction. In general, however, acupuncture is considered complementary to conventional treatments, and it is likely most effective when implemented along with certain healthy lifestyle habits, according to Bao. 

Study also uses acupuncture to aid in anxiety, gastrointestinal issues, weight loss, infertility, and chronic pain, in which she specializes. According to Study, acupuncture has been shown to work very well in conjunction with medications and other treatments to greatly increase their effects.

"Usually, when people are more health conscious, they pay attention to diet, they exercise more, they think about a mind-body approach to decrease stress, and they might also use acupuncture. Ideally, I think these things should all come together, rather than having the goal be to use acupuncture to treat everything. That doesn't necessarily work," Bao said.