Acupuncture, when compared to pharmacotherapy and physiotherapy, significantly reduces pain intensity, enhances functionality, and alleviates depression in patients with fibromyalgia.
In the methods used, a comprehensive electronic search was conducted across various scientific and medical databases. The selection criteria focused on systematic reviews of clinical trials that evaluated the effects of acupuncture versus other interventions for pain intensity and additional clinical outcomes in female fibromyalgia patients. Overall, ten systematic reviews were identified that fit these criteria and were included in this study's quantitative analysis.
The results revealed that acupuncture was generally more effective in reducing pain intensity, improving functional status, and lessening symptoms of depression in these patients when compared to other methods such as pharmacotherapy or physiotherapy. However, it did not show a significant impact on the quality of sleep. Despite these positive outcomes favouring acupuncture, they did not meet the minimum threshold to be considered clinically essential for patients suffering from fibromyalgia. The quality of the supporting evidence was rated as low to very low.
