Table 4.

Description of needling interventions.

Study	Interventions	Needle Placement	Needle Manipulation	Retention Time	Frequency/ Duration
Ji et al., 2015 [44]	MA or EA vs. Conventional Western Medicine (oral drugs, external drugs or injections)	Common points: GB 30 (n = 12 studies), BL 54 (n = 7 studies), BL 40 (n = 8 studies), GB 34 (n = 5 studies), BL 25 (n = 6 studies), BL 23 (n = 5 studies), BL 60 (n = 8 studies), BL 57 (n = 6 studies), GB 39 (n = 6 studies)	Manual stimulation (n = 8 studies) electric stimulation (n = 4 studies) 10 out of 12 studies elicited de qi or other sensation	Ranged from 5 to 30 min for either MA or EA	Number of sessions ranged from 6 to 40. Frequency ranged from once per day ×6–15 days to 2 times per week for 3 weeks to 3 times per week for 2 weeks
Huang et al., 2020 [40]	MA vs. Sham Acupuncture, EA vs. Medium Frequency Electrotherapy (MFE), MA + EA vs. usual care alone (Physical Therapy)	Huang et al., 2019 [41]: (B) BL 23, BL 25, BL 40, BL 57). Zhang et al. [38]: BL 25 on affected side, Jiaji (Ex-B2) bilaterally at spinal level of lumbar disc herniation. Kim et al., 2016: BL23, BL24, BL25 or BL26 or Jiaji points at L2–L5 spinal levels. Other used points were BL57, BL60, GB39, GB34 and tender points	Kim et al., 2016 Manual stimulation 15–50 mm depth, lift-thrust and needle rotation to elicit de qi. Electrical stimulation applied with alternating 2–100 Hz frequency	Kim et al., 2016 retention time 20 min with EA 2–100 Hz alternating. See below for Huang et al. [41] and Zhang et al. [38]	Kim et al., 2016 = 12–16 sessions over a 6-week period. See below for Huang et al. [41] and Zhang et al. [38]
Huang et al., 2019 [41]	MA (n = 23) vs. Sham Acupuncture (n = 21)	Acupuncture to (B) BL 23, BL 25, BL 40, BL 57. Sham group used blunt needles on same points without insertion	Manual stimulation, depth of needling 40–70 mm into BL 25, 30 mm into BL 40 and BL 57 Needle twirling, lifting and thrusting were used to elicit de qi	30 min	3 ×/week for 4 weeks 12 sessions
Lewis et al., 2015 [24]	EA vs. sham acupuncture	No data reported	EA	Not reported	5 session of EA
Liu et al., 2019 [22]	High dose MA vs. Low dose MA	High Dose = 18 points BL 23, BL 25, BL 27, GB 30, BL 37, BL 54, BL 36, GB 31, BL 40, ST 36, GB 34, SP 9, BL 58, SP 6, GB 39, BL 60, KI 3, BL 62. Low Dose = 6 points BL 23, GB 30, BL 40 GB 34, BL 60, GB 39	Manual stimulation = needle rotation at 5–30 mm depth and elicited de qi	20–30 min	2 ×/week for 4 weeks 8 sessions
Luijsterburg et al., 2007 [43]	30 patients with sciatica (15 in acupuncture group and 15 placebo acupuncture)	No data reported.	EA	Not reported	5 session of EA
Qin et al., 2015 [45]	MA (n = 2 studies), EA (n = 6) studies, Warming Acupuncture (n = 2 studies). Comparison interventions included; conventional medication (n = 8 studies), acupuncture with meds compared to meds alone (n = 2 studies), 1 trial compared acupuncture with sham acupuncture	Number of points used ranged from 1 to 10 across studies. Most commonly used points were GB 30 (n= 9 studies) BL 40 (n = 8 studies), BL 67 (n = 4 studies). Other common points were BL 54 (n = 4 studies), Jiaji (EX-B2) (n = 6 studies), BL 57 (n = 3 studies), BL 23 + BL 25 (n = 2 studies)	MA (n = 2 studies). EA (n = 6 studies). All 11 studies reported de qi needle sensation of soreness and numbness	Retention time varied from 20–45 min	1 to 4 weeks. Frequency ranged from 1 to 3 sessions per day for 7–10 days (n = 9 studies) or 2 to 4 sessions 3 times per week (n = 2 studies)
Zhang et al., 2017 [38]	EA (n = 50) vs. MFE (n = 50)	BL 25 on affected side, Jiaji (Ex-B2) bilaterally at spinal level of lumbar disc herniation. MFE = surface electrodes applied over same points as acupuncture group	Manual stimulation (BL 25 up to 3 inch depth and Jiaji (Ex-B2) up to 1.5 inch depth, + electrical stimulation = 50 Hz	20 min	5 times per week for 2 weeks then 3 sessions per week for 2 weeks.
Jeong et al., 2020 [39]	MA (n = 73) vs. Acupotomy (n = 73)	MA = GV 3 and (B) BL 23, BL 24, BL 25, BL 26, GB 30, BL 40, BL 60 Acupotomy = 2–6 points at lumbar levels of disc herniation	MA = Manual needle rotation 3–5 times after insertion 20 mm for BL 40 and BL 60, 30 mm depth for all others. Acupotomy = 50–70 mm depth to 2–6 points	MA = 15 min Acupotomy = immediate removal after manipulation	MA = 4 sessions over a 2-week period
Lewis et al., 2011 [42]	30 patients with sciatica (15 in acupuncture group and 15 placebo acupuncture).	No data provided	EA	No data provided	5 session of acupuncture

MA: manual acupuncture; EA: electroacupuncture; BL: bladder; Jiaji: huatuojiaji; GB: gallbladder; Hz: hertz; ST: stomach; SP: spleen; KI: kidney.