Acupuncture shows potential in reducing pain intensity, alleviating anxiety, and improving quality of life for patients suffering from postherpetic neuralgia.

2019 Journal of Pain Research Is acupuncture an effective postherpetic neuralgia treatment? A systematic review and meta-analysis Pei, W., Zeng, J., Lu, L., et al.

Systematic Review Postherpetic Neuralgia Shingles

Methodology: To understand the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating postherpetic neuralgia, six different databases were examined for randomized controlled trials. The data from these studies was extracted and further assessed for quality. A meta-analysis was conducted on a selection of these studies using the software RevMan 5.3. Additionally, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation system contributed towards evaluating the overall quality of the evidence presented in these studies.

Discussion: The research establishes that acupuncture has a positive effect on postherpetic neuralgia, such as lowering the intensity of pain experienced and reducing the scores on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale. Other forms of intervention like electroacupuncture, fire needle, and bloodletting and cupping also proved effective in relieving pain. The results also indicate an enhanced quality of life for those individuals who used acupuncture. The quality of evidence that supports the use of acupuncture for this type of pain was judged to be moderate.

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