Table 2.
Results (MD, with 95% CI) of the pairwise meta-analysis for pain and function scores.
| Sham needle vs Education |
Acupuncture vs Sham needle | Electro-acupuncture vs Sham needle | Electro-acupuncture vs Warm needle | Acupuncture vs Waiting list | Acupuncture vs Education | Electro-acupuncture vs Education | Fire needle vs Electro-acupuncture | Fire needle vs Warm needle | Warm needle vs Waiting list | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain | -1.14 [-1.20, -1.08] | -0.68 [-1.06, -0.31] | -2.25 [-3.42, -1.08] | -2.58 [-4.77, -0.39] | -3.01 [-4.71, -1.31] | -2.09 [-2.17, -2.01] | -2.09 [-2.17, -2.01] | -2.57 [-3.67, -1.47] | -1.70 [-4.25, 0.85] | -4.26 [-6.50, -2.02] |
|
| ||||||||||
| Function | -3.78 [-3.95, -3.61] | -1.74 [-3.82, 0.33] | -5.92 [-9.43, -2.41] | -2.36 [-12.27, 7.55] | -11.98 [-18.01, -5.95] | -6.56 [-6.83, -6.29] | -6.56 [-6.80, -6.32] | -1.80 [-3.11, -0.49] | -2.40 [-7.78, 2.98] | -14.70 [-23.86, -5.54] |
∗Boldface and italic meant significance. (Note: if MD<0, it meant that the therapeutic group was better than the control group.)