Acupuncture Versus Sham-acupuncture: A Meta-analysis on Evidence for Non-immediate Effects of Acupuncture in Musculoskeletal Disorders.
Author: Lenoir D1,2,3, De Pauw R1, Van Oosterwijck S1, Cagnie B1, Meeus M1,2,4
Affiliation:
1Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium.
2Pain in Motion international research group, http://www.paininmotion.be.
3Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy (KIMA), Faculty of Physical Education & Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
4Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Conference/Journal: Clin J Pain.
Date published: 2020 Feb 5
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000812. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 250
OBJECTIVE: Acupuncture is a common modality in the therapy of musculoskeletal disorders. The evidence for acupuncture has already been examined frequently but a clear synthesis of previous research is currently lacking. This meta-analysis aims to summarize the evidence for non-immediate effects of acupuncture on pain, functionality and quality of life (QOL) in patients with musculoskeletal disorders, when compared to sham acupuncture.
METHODS: Search results from Pubmed and Web of science were brought together. All screening procedures were executed twice by two independent researchers. The pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with its confidence interval (CI) were estimated at follow-up less than one month, one to three months, three to six months and more than six months.
RESULTS: For pain, the SMD equalled respectively -1.24 (CI -1.98 to -0.49), -1.06 (CI -1.61 to -0.51), -2.34 (CI -3.46 to -1.21) and -0.12 (CI -0.36 to 0.11). For functionality, the pooled SMD equalled -0.63 (CI -1.16 to -0.10), -0.62 (CI -1.33 to 0.08), -0.20 (CI -2.10 to 1.70), and -0.13 (-0.46 to 0.19). In the area of QOL, pooled SMD of respectively -0.98 (CI -2.37 to 0.41), -0.64 (CI -1.42 to 0.14), -0.70 (CI -1.43 to 0.03) and -0.59 (CI -0.80 to -0.38) were obtained.
DISCUSSION: A significant difference in therapy effect, favouring acupuncture, was found for pain at less than one month, one to three months and three to six months, as well as on functionality at less than one month. Absence of a significant difference between both modalities was decided upon in all other outcome categories.
PMID: 32028381 DOI: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000812
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