Insights & Discussion
Acupuncture displays potential as a safe and effective treatment for foot and ankle pain, providing pain relief and functional improvement.
The researchers gathered Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) from 6 major English databases, and relevant systematic reviews manually via Google Scholar. The selected RCTs studied the comparison of acupuncture with various types of sham acupuncture and nonactive or waitlist controls in terms of pain intensity, functional status, and general quality of life. All procedures including study screening, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and quality assessment were conducted independently. Instead of performing a quantitative synthesis, the team opted for a narrative synthesis as quantitative pooling wasn't fit for the collected data.
Four RCTs involving a total of 211 participants were included. Due to distinct clinical heterogeneity involving all the outcomes, the team did not conduct a quantitative analysis. Using a quality grading system, all outcomes were rated as supported by low or very low-quality evidence. Despite this, the study still showed acupuncture is potentially effective for treating participants with plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendinopathy, in terms of pain relief and functional status improvement, over short- and intermediate-term follow-ups. Notably, no adverse events linked to acupuncture use were reported.
Discover Related Insights
Electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture show similar effectiveness in relieving plantar heel pain syndrome with no significant difference between the two modalities.
2020 Acupuncture in Medicine Comparison of electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture for patients with plantar heel pain syndrome: a randomized controlled trial Wang W, Liu Y, Jiao R, Liu S, Zhao J, Liu Z
Randomised Controlled Trial Acupuncture Ankle Pain Electroacupuncture
In this research, participants were randomly divided into two groups to receive either electroacupuncture (EA) or manual acupuncture (MA) treatments. They underwent a course of 12 treatment sessions over a span of 4 weeks, followed by 24 weeks of follow-up. The study prioritized the assessment of treatment responders, who were identified as patients showcasing at least a 50% reduction from their initial worst pain intensity experienced during the initial steps in the morning after 4 weeks of treatment.
The study encompassed 92 patients diagnosed with PHPS, enlisted between July 2018 and June 2019. A total of 78 patients (85% of the original group) successfully completed both the treatment and follow-up. The results highlight that after the 4-week treatment period, both the EA and MA groups experienced a decrease in heel pain and showed improved plantar function with no serious treatment-related adverse events. Interestingly, no significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of pain intensity relief or in any secondary outcomes after 4 weeks of treatment and at follow-up points at 16 and 28 weeks.
Acupuncture has shown potential in alleviating symptoms and improving overall quality of life for patients suffering from ankle sprains.
2013 BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Acupuncture for ankle sprain: systematic review and meta-analysis Park J, Hahn S, Park JY, Park HJ, Lee H
Systematic Review Ankle Pain Back, Hip & Leg Pain
To evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating ankle sprains, the researchers performed a systematic review, sourcing data from 15 databases and two trial registries up until February 2012. Only randomized controlled trials of acupuncture that involved patients with ankle sprains and reported improvements of symptoms, particularly pain, were included. Different aspects such as the type of acupuncture, the grade of sprain, and the type of control were considered. The risk of bias and sample size were assessed using a Cochrane risk of bias tool, and sensitivity analyses were performed regarding these factors and reported outcomes.
In relation to the results, they incorporated 17 trials with a total of 1820 participants. It was found that overall quality of the trials was lacking, with only three properly describing their randomization methods, and just one detailing a method for obscuring allocation. More participants who received acupuncture reported a global improvement of symptoms compared to those who did not undergo acupuncture. Additionally, acupuncture as an auxiliary treatment also enhanced global symptoms compared to other treatments alone, without significant changes in results. The advantages of acupuncture remained notable even after limiting the analysis to the two trials with the lowest risk of bias. Acupuncture proved to be more efficient than other control methods in reducing pain, enabling return to normal activities, and enhancing quality of life. However, these analyses relied on a small range of studies. Acupuncture did not seem to be connected with any detrimental events.