Table 2.
Summary Reviews of Acupuncture on Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain (2016–2020)
| Conditions | Authors, Year, Type of study | Number of included studies | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osteoarthritis (OA) | Lin 2016, meta-analysis [24] | 10 RCTs: Acupuncture for chronic knee OA | Acupuncture might improve short and long-term physical function; it provides only short-term pain relief in treating knee OA |
| Shim 2016, systemic review, meta-analysis [25] | 31 RCTs: electroacupuncture for knee OA | Electroacupuncture treatment can relieve the pain, improve comprehensive aspects of knee osteoarthritis and the quality of life of patients with knee OA | |
| Zhang 2017, systematic review, meta-analysis [26] | 17 RCTs: Acupuncture for chronic knee pain | Acupuncture may be effective at relieving chronic knee pain at 12 weeks compared with standard care or other control conditions. | |
| Manheimer 2018, Cochrane Systematic Review [27] | 6 RCTs: Acupuncture for Hip OA | Acupuncture had little or no effect in reducing pain or improving function relative to sham acupuncture in people with hip OA. Side effects associated with acupuncture treatment were minor. | |
| Li 2019, Overview of systematic reviews [28] | 12 systematic reviews published from 2006 to 2017 (246 RCTs): Acupuncture for Knee OA | Acupuncture has more short-term effects and less adverse reactions than western medicine in treating knee OA. | |
| Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) | Fernandez-Llanio Comella 2016, one Cochrane review and 3 systematic reviews [29] | 1 Cochrane review 2 studies; 3 systematic reviews (number of studies not reported) |
Despite some favorable results in active-controlled trials, conflicting and insufficient evidence exists in placebo-controlled trials concerning the efficacy of acupuncture for RA. |
| Ramos 2018, An overview of 7 systematic reviews [30] |
20 RCTs | Acupuncture probably has little or no impact in RA. | |
| Fibromyalgia | Aman 2018, narrative review [31] | 4 RCTs published between 2012 and 2017 | Current literature does not support the routine use of acupuncture for improving pain or quality of life in fibromyalgia. |
| Zhang 2019, systematic reviews and meta-analysis [32] | 12 RCTs published before May 2018 | Acupuncture therapy is an effective and safe treatment and can be recommended for the management of fibromyalgia. | |
| Chronic low back pain | Yuan 2016, meta-analysis [33] | 63 RCTs (6382 participants with musculoskeletal pain) | Acupuncture has a moderate effect on musculoskeletal pain compared to sham acupuncture with low-quality evidence. |
| Chen 2017 overview with 15 systematic reviews, meta-analyses [9] | A variety of pain conditions | Acupuncture has a possible benefit in low back pain, compared to sham acupuncture or standard care | |
| Vickers 2018, meta-analysis [34] | 39 RCTs (13 OA, 18 back and neck pain, 4 shoulder pain) | Acupuncture is effective for chronic pain with persisting effects over time and could not be explained solely by placebo effects. | |
| Lorenc 2018, systematic reviews [35] | 206 reviews, 58 for chronic MSK pain | Evidence of effectiveness of acupuncture in low back pain. | |
| Lemmon 2018, systematic review [36] | 35 RCTs in low back pain | Acupuncture may have a short-term benefit in pain reduction | |
| Xiang 2020, systematic review and meta-analysis [37] | 14 RCTs in 2110 participants with low back pain | Acupuncture showed pain reduction immediately after treatment, when compared to sham or placebo acupuncture. | |
| Li, 2020, systematic review [38] | 25 RCTs in 7587 participants with low back pain | Acupuncture appears to be effective for low back pain |
RCT: randomized controlled trials; OA: osteoarthritis; MSK: musculoskeletal; RA: rheumatoid arthritis