Acupuncture useless for chronic knee pain?

Among patients older than 50 years with moderate to severe chronic knee pain, acupuncture does not improve discomfort any more than 'sham' acupuncture, says a new study. Sham acupuncture is any form o

By: Agencies | | Published: October 2, 2014 12:45 pm

Among patients older than 50 years with moderate to severe chronic knee pain, acupuncture does not improve discomfort any more than ‘sham’ acupuncture, says a new study. Sham acupuncture is any form of fake acupuncture, used so that researchers can test whether benefits from the traditional acupuncture may be due to a placebo affect.

For the study, lead researcher Rana S. Hinman from the University of Melbourne and colleagues randomly assigned 282 patients (50 years or older) with chronic knee pain to needle acupuncture, laser acupuncture and sham laser acupuncture. Treatments were delivered for 12 weeks. Participants and acupuncturists were blinded to laser and sham laser acupuncture.

There were no significant differences in primary outcomes (measures of knee pain and physical function) between laser and sham laser acupuncture at 12 weeks. Both needle and laser acupuncture resulted in modest improvements in pain compared with control at 12 weeks that were not maintained at one year. Most secondary outcomes (other pain and function measures, quality of life, global change and one-year follow-up) showed no difference. The study appeared in the JAMA journal.

Source: IANS

Photo source: Getty images

You may also like to read:

For more articles on diseases & conditions , visit our diseases & conditions section. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates! For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter. And for health-related queries, visit our Questions and Answers section.

Published: October 2, 2014 12:45 pm

Disclaimer: TheHealthSite.com does not guarantee any specific results as a result of the procedures mentioned here and the results may vary from person to person. The topics in these pages including text, graphics, videos and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only and not to be substituted for professional medical advice.

Unregulated diagnosis and non-qualified doctors to blame for drug-resistant TB spread

Ebola in US: Has the Ebola patient transmitted the virus to school kids?

About The health Site

Useful Links