Ear electroacupuncture, warming needle therapy, and auricular needle embedding may offer the greatest symptom relief when combined with medication for endometriosis.
Researchers searched eight Chinese and international medical databases for randomized controlled trials published up to May 2023 that compared acupuncture-related treatments combined with drug therapy for symptomatic endometriosis. They assessed study quality using a standard bias assessment tool and conducted a network meta-analysis to compare multiple interventions indirectly and directly, ranking treatments by their relative performance across outcomes.
Across the included studies, several acupuncture-related approaches combined with medication improved overall endometriosis symptoms more than conventional treatment alone. Ear electroacupuncture, warming needle moxibustion combined with a modified herbal formula, and auricular needle embedding ranked particularly highly for symptom reduction, while body electroacupuncture, acupoint catgut embedding, and auricular needle embedding also showed greater overall effectiveness than conventional care.
