Pain management with acupuncture in osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Manyanga, T., Froese, M., Zarychanski, R. et al. · BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies · 2014 August 23
DOI 10.1186/1472-6882-14-312
Objective
The objective of the present systematic review was to identify, and synthesize data from prospective randomized controlled trials comparing acupuncture to sham acupuncture, usual care, or no treatment, in adults diagnosed with osteoarthritis.
Conclusions
The use of acupuncture is associated with significant reductions in pain intensity, improvement in functional mobility and quality of life. While the differences are not as great as shown by other reviews, current evidence supports the use of acupuncture as an alternative for traditional analgesics in patients with osteoarthritis.
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Insights
The use of acupuncture for osteoarthritis is associated with significant reductions in pain intensity, improvement in functional mobility and quality of life.
In this systematic review, we found acupuncture administered to adults with osteoarthritis to be associated with a statistically significant reduction in pain intensity, improved functional mobility and improved health-related quality of life. Reductions in pain were greater in trials with longer intervention periods. Though under-reported and inconsistently described, major adverse events with acupuncture were not reported. Subgroup analyses suggest that acupuncture is most effective for reducing osteoarthritic pain when administered for more than four weeks. Outcome assessment for the majority of trials occurred immediately following the intervention period and thus the durability of treatment effects are unknown.
