Dr. David Pfister of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York conducted a controlled trial on 70 patients who had neck dissection -- a surgical procedure for treatment of head and neck cancer. They were randomly selected to receive either acupuncture or usual care.

Pfister said he found pain and mobility improved in 39 percent of the patients receiving acupuncture, compared to 7 percent in the group that received usual care such as physical therapy and anti-inflammatory drugs.

"Unfortunately, available conventional methods of treatment for pain and dysfunction following neck surgery often have limited benefits, leaving much room for improvement," Pfister said in a statement.

An added benefit of acupuncture was significant reduction of reported xerostomia, or extreme dry mouth -- a common problem among head and neck cancer patients.

The treatment group received four sessions of acupuncture over the course of about four weeks.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology in Chicago.