Study: Effectiveness of acupuncture in osteoarthritis

manyanga T., Froese M., Zarychanski R. et al. Pain treatment with acupuncture in osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta -analysis. bmc complement agent med. August 23, 2014; 14: 312.

Systemic review and meta -analysis: The studies were selected using a two -stage process, in which two experts independently searched for 14,449 quotations including randomized controlled studies (RCTS) for acupuncture in adults with osteoarthritis (OA). A total of 12 studies were included in this analysis. Non-RCTs, studies with animals and studies on the evaluation of electrical acupuncture were excluded from the analysis. The extracted data included patientemographies, interventions and comparison therapies, study results, total number of acupuncture meetings, relevant co -intervention, duration of the study and duration of aftercare. The internal validity of the studies was evaluated with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool.

The cohort of this review comprised 1,763 participants in studies from 1989 to 2013, in which acupuncture was compared with sham acupuncture, no treatment or the usual treatment (weight loss, movement, pharmacological active ingredients).

Primary endpoint was the pain intensity with secondary endpoints of functional mobility and health -related quality of life (HRQOL).

Ten studies with 1,699 participants showed significantly reduced OA pain, with longer intervention times (4 weeks) being associated with improved response to treatment. Comparative prices (appearance vs. real) and other co -adverves (non -steroidal inflammatory inhibitors [NSAIDS] vs. no medication) did not affect the pain values ​​than acupuncture alone.

The functional mobility assessed at the end of the studies was significantly improved in the acupuncture groups compared to the control groups.

Three studies with 958 participants reported on the HRQOL and found that acupuncture was associated with significant improvements in the HRQOL at the end of the intervention period.

No significant undesirable events were associated with acupuncture treatment.

This research article supports the use of acupuncture as an effective method in treating patients with OA-related pain and disabilities.

oa is the most common form of arthritis and the most common cause of disabilities in non -institutionalized adults. 1 It has a major impact on physical function and mobility, especially in older people. It is estimated that 10 % of men and 18 % of women worldwide suffer from OA symptoms. By 2001, job-related OA cost up to $ 13 billion in the United States.

This comprehensive and careful search and review of numerous studies - which were concentrated and carefully selected and checked on patient -centered results to reduce distortion and other data management factors - consistently showed that acupuncture significantly reduced the pain intensity, improved functional mobility and increased HRQOL. In addition, treatment periods of 4 to 10 weeks showed better measured results, which indicates an effect of the swelling dose or duration.

Since most treatments from OA concentrate on symptom treatment, NSAIDs are often prescribed. These have proven to be only slightly effective, but often cause side effects. ^{3 In comparison, acupuncture is generally free of significant side effects and widespread.}

Based on this overview, acupuncture should be regarded as central therapy in treatment plans that focus on the clinical treatment of pain and disabilities based on OA.

This review can be restricted by methodological challenges that have been assessed by the included studies, of which 75 % were assessed as "unclear" or "with high distortion potential". A lack of consensus about what the "usual care" defines in the studies could also have influenced the results. These two restrictions can lead to excessive effects.