Insights & Discussion
Acupuncture showed a significant effect in the management of fibromyalgia patients. It reduced pain, depression, and enhanced quality of life.
There were 23 included RCTs. The total sample size was 1409 patients. Compared with the sham/placebo group, the network analysis showed the highest improvement in the quality of life in the acupuncture group standardized mean difference, and then in the physiotherapy group. For the pain, there was a significant reduction with acupuncture, compared with sham/placebo. Regarding depression, it showed a significant reduction with acupuncture compared with sham/placebo. Finally, for stiffness, it showed no significant differences in the stiffness between acupuncture, fluoxetine, and physiotherapy compared with sham/placebo.
Discover Related Insights
Acupuncture is more effective than control treatment in alleviating pain and improving well-being in both the short- and long-term in patients with fibromyalgia.
2022 Journal of Pain Research Effect of Acupuncture on Pain, Fatigue, Sleep, Physical Function, Stiffness, Well-Being, and Safety in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Zheng C, Zhou T
Systematic Review Autoimmune Diseases Fibromyalgia
This meta-analysis included 12 studies with 715 participants comparing the effects of real acupuncture with control intervention. The results indicated that acupuncture could effectively relieve pain and improve well-being in patients with FM, with both short - and long-term benefits. However, acupuncture had no effect on fatigue, sleep, physical function, and stiffness compared with control treatment. The subgroup analysis indicated that the real acupuncture group produced more analgesic effects than the control group, with different number of sessions, types of acupuncture, and stimulation. In addition, acupuncture was not associated with serious reactions and had a reliable safety profile.
Increasing evidence supports the use of acupuncture as part of multimodal approaches to the treatment of fibromyalgia with additive efficacy to traditional therapy.
2021 Orthopedic Reviews Efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of fibromyalgia Berger AA, Liu Y, Nguyen J, Spraggins R, Reed DS, Lee C, et al.
Review Article Fibromyalgia
Given the positive evidence in most studies examining the use of acupuncture as an adjunct to exercise, physical therapy, or pharmacological treatment, and in light of the safety and availability of the treatment, there seems to be increasing evidence supporting the incorporation of acupuncture as part of multi-modality treatment plans for fibromyalgia.
Compared with no treatment and standard therapy, acupuncture improves pain and stiffness in people with fibromyalgia.
2013 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Acupuncture for treating fibromyalgia Deare JC, Zheng Z, Xue CC, Liu JP, Shang J, Scott SW, et al.
Systematic Review Chronic Pain Fibromyalgia
There is low to moderate-level evidence that compared with no treatment and standard therapy, acupuncture improves pain and stiffness in people with fibromyalgia. There is moderate-level evidence that the effect of acupuncture does not differ from sham acupuncture in reducing pain or fatigue, or improving sleep or global well-being. EA is probably better than MA for pain and stiffness reduction and improvement of global well-being, sleep and fatigue. The effect lasts up to one month, but is not maintained at six months follow-up. MA probably does not improve pain or physical functioning. Acupuncture appears safe. People with fibromyalgia may consider using EA alone or with exercise and medication. The small sample size, scarcity of studies for each comparison, lack of an ideal sham acupuncture weaken the level of evidence and its clinical implications. Larger studies are warranted.