Insights & Discussion
Acupuncture can be considered as an alternative option for treatment of De Quervain's tenosynovitis.
Although injection has been considered the mainstay of management for tendinopathy, the exact mechanism of its therapeutic effect is unknown. Furthermore, a number of studies have provided strong evidence that corticosteroid injection is beneficial in the short term but may be worse than other conservative interventions in the intermediate and long terms.
According to this study, acupuncture improved not only pain intensity, but also disability status of the patients with De Quervain's tenosynovitis. Although we noted a higher improvement rate in patient's symptoms in the injection group, the difference between the two groups was small when the overall effects were evaluated over time and, therefore, the efficacy of acupuncture is likewise remarkable.
Discover Related Insights
Acupuncture, moxibustion, and laser acupuncture are effective as conservative therapies for the treatment of De Quervain's Stenosing Tenosynovitis.
2017 The Acupuncture A Review of Research on Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treatment for De Quervain’s Stenosing Tenosynovitis Kong HJ, Kang JH, Yun GW, Oh SY, Lee H
Systematic Review De Quervains Tenosynovitis
A total of 51 studies, consisting of 28 case reports and 23 RCTs, were selected and analyzed according to the research methods defined in this paper.
The most common treatments used in the 51 studies were Acupuncture (60.78%) followed by Acupotomy (13.73%), Pharmacopuncture (9.8%), Moxibustion (7.84%) and Laser acupuncture (7.84%). The most commonly used acupoints for acupuncture treatment of DQST were Ashi points and acupoints, such as LI05, LI11, LI04, LI10 and LI06 in the Large Intestine Meridian.