Acupuncture does not improve chronic knee pain says new study

Neither needle nor laser acupuncture benefits people with knee pain, says research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
An Australian research team split 282 people aged at least 50 years into groups: needle acupuncture; laser acupuncture; pretend laser acupuncture; and no acupuncture. The volunteers received the treatments for 12 weeks.
– Needle and laser acupuncture did result in improvements in pain compared with those who received no acupuncture at the end of the 12 weeks but this was not maintained a year later.
– Needle acupuncture improved physical function at 12 weeks compared with those who received no acupuncture but this was not different from pretend acupuncture and was not maintained a year later.
– There was no difference between the active acupuncture and the pretend acupuncture.
“In patients older than 50 years with moderate or severe chronic knee pain, neither laser nor needle acupuncture conferred benefit over sham for pain or function,” the research team says. “Our findings do not support acupuncture for these patients.”
Although the findings are not encouraging for advocates of acupuncture, other factors could have influenced the results, such as treatment setting, patient expectations and attitudes (such as optimism), acupuncturist’s confidence in treatment, and patient and acupuncturist interaction.

Click here to read the original research.

Click here to read more about acupuncture in arthritis.

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