Pain

Acupressure for labor pain management: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Chen, Y., Xiang, X. Y., Chin, K., Gao, J., Wu, J., Lao, L., & Chen, H. (2020). Acupressure for labor pain management: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, 96452842a0946044. Advance online publication. Acupressure decreases duration of labor and perception of pain.
Published on Apr 24, 2020

Acupuncture for Pain Management in Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Conclusions. Acupuncture plus drug therapy is more effective than conventional drug therapy alone for cancer-related pain. Hu, C., Zhang, H., Wu, W., Yu, W., Li, Y., Bai, J., Luo, B., & Li, S. (2016). Acupuncture for Pain Management in Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2016, 1720239. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/1720239
Published on Feb 10, 2016

Acupuncture for pelvic and back pain in pregnancy: a systematic review.
Ee CC, Manheimer E, Pirotta MV, White AR., Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Mar;198(3):254-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2007.11.008. Source: Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. ccee@unimelb.edu.au Abstract: The objective of our study was to review the effectiveness of needle acupuncture in treating the common and disabling problem of pelvic and back pain in pregnancy. Two small trials on mixed pelvic/back pain and 1 large high-quality trial on pelvic pain met the inclusion criteria. Acupuncture, as an adjunct to standard treatment, was superior to standard treatment alone and physiotherapy in relieving mixed pelvic/back pain. Women with well-defined pelvic pain had greater relief of pain with a combination of acupuncture and standard treatment, compared to standard treatment alone or stabilizing exercises and standard treatment. We used a narrative synthesis due to significant clinical heterogeneity between trials. Few and minor adverse events were reported. We conclude that limited evidence supports acupuncture use in treating pregnancy-related pelvic and back pain. Additional high-quality trials are needed to test the existing promising evidence for this relatively safe and popular complementary therapy.
Published on Mar 19, 2008

Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine.
Linde, K., Allais, G., Brinkhaus, B., Fei, Y., Mehring, M., Vertosick, E. A., Vickers, A., & White, A. R. (2016). Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2016(6), CD001218. Authors' conclusions: The available evidence suggests that adding acupuncture to symptomatic treatment of attacks reduces the frequency of headaches. Contrary to the previous findings, the updated evidence also suggests that there is an effect over sham, but this effect is small. The available trials also suggest that acupuncture may be at least similarly effective as treatment with prophylactic drugs. Acupuncture can be considered a treatment option for patients willing to undergo this treatment.
Published on Oct 14, 2016

Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache
Linde, K., Allais, G., Brinkhaus, B., Fei, Y., Mehring, M., Shin, B. C., Vickers, A., & White, A. R. (2016). Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 4(4), CD007587. Authors' conclusions: The available results suggest that acupuncture is effective for treating frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headaches, but further trials - particularly comparing acupuncture with other treatment options - are needed.
Published on Apr 19, 2016

Acupuncture or acupressure for pain management during labour.
Smith CA, Collins CT, Levett KM, Armour M, Dahlen HG, Tan AL, Mesgarpour B. (2020) Acupuncture or acupressure for pain management during labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD009232. Acupressure led to decreased pain and C-sections.
Published on Apr 24, 2020

Acupuncture or acupressure for relieving pain during labour
Smith, CA. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Feb 2020. Acupuncture in comparison to sham acupuncture may increase satisfaction with pain management and reduce use of pharmacological analgesia. Acupressure in comparison to a combined control and usual care may reduce pain intensity.
Published on Feb 7, 2020

Acupuncture therapy for fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Conclusion: Acupuncture therapy is an effective and safe treatment for patients with FM, and this treatment can be recommended for the management of FM. Zhang, X. C., Chen, H., Xu, W. T., Song, Y. Y., Gu, Y. H., & Ni, G. X. (2019). Acupuncture therapy for fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of pain research, 12, 527–542. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S186227
Published on Jan 30, 2019

Acupuncture vs. Pharmacological Prophylaxis of Migraine: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
Conclusions: Based on moderate certainty of evidence, we conclude that acupuncture is mildly more effective and much safer than medication for the prophylaxis of migraine. Giovanardi, C. M., Cinquini, M., Aguggia, M., Allais, G., Campesato, M., Cevoli, S., Gentili, F., Matrà, A., & Minozzi, S. (2020). Acupuncture vs. Pharmacological Prophylaxis of Migraine: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Frontiers in neurology, 11, 576272. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2020.576272
Published on Oct 14, 2020

Clinical Evidence for Association of Acupuncture and Acupressure With Improved Cancer Pain
Findings In this systematic review of 17 randomized clinical trials and meta-analysis of 14 trials in the current English-language and Chinese-language literature, a significant association was found between real (compared with sham) acupuncture and reduced pain, and acupuncture combined with analgesic therapy was associated with decreased analgesic use. However, heterogeneity lowered the level of certainty of the evidence. He, Y., Guo, X., May, B. H., Zhang, A. L., Liu, Y., Lu, C., Mao, J. J., Xue, C. C., & Zhang, H. (2020). Clinical Evidence for Association of Acupuncture and Acupressure With Improved Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA oncology, 6(2), 271–278.
Published on Feb 6, 2020

Complementary therapies for labour and birth study: a randomised controlled trial of antenatal integrative medicine for pain management in labour.
Levett, K. M., Smith, C. A., Bensoussan, A., & Dahlen, H. G. (2016). Complementary therapies for labour and birth study: a randomised controlled trial of antenatal integrative medicine for pain management in labour. BMJ open, 6(7), e010691. Conclusions: The Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth study protocol significantly reduced epidural use and caesarean section. This study provides evidence for integrative medicine as an effective adjunct to antenatal education, and contributes to the body of best practice evidence.
Published on Jul 12, 2016

Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Treating Sciatica: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
We found that the use of acupuncture may be more effective than drugs and may enhance the effect of drugs for patients with sciatica, but because of the insufficient number of relevant and rigorous studies, the evidence is limited. Qin, Z., Liu, X., Wu, J., Zhai, Y., & Liu, Z. (2015). Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Treating Sciatica: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2015, 425108. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/425108
Published on Oct 21, 2015

Effects of acupuncture and stabilising exercises as adjunct to standard treatment in pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain: randomised single blind controlled trial.
lden H, Ladfors L, Olsen MF, Ostgaard HC, Hagberg H., BMJ. 2005 Apr 2;330(7494):761. Epub 2005 Mar 18. Source: Perinatal Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute for the Health of Women and Children, Sahlgrenska Academy, East Hospital, 41685 Gothenburg, Sweden. helen.elden@vgregion.se CONCLUSION: Acupuncture and stabilising exercises constitute efficient complements to standard treatment for the management of pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy. Acupuncture was superior to stabilising exercises in this study.
Published on Apr 2, 2005

Manual acupuncture for myofascial pain syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Conclusions: Through stimulation of MTrPs, MA might be efficacious in terms of pain relief and reduction of muscle irritability in MPS patients. Additional well-designed/reported studies are required to determine the optimal number of sessions for the treatment of MPS. Wang, R., Li, X., Zhou, S., Zhang, X., Yang, K., & Li, X. (2017). Manual acupuncture for myofascial pain syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, 35(4), 241–250. https://doi.org/10.1136/acupmed-2016-011176
Published on Aug 1, 2017

The effect of acupressure on labor pain and the duration of labor when applied to the SP6 point: Randomized clinical trial
TÃrkmen, H., & Çeber Turfan, E. (2020). The effect of acupressure on labor pain and the duration of labor when applied to the SP6 point: Randomized clinical trial. Japan journal of nursing science : JJNS, 17(1), e12256. Spleen 6 decreased perception of pain, duration of labor, and increased satisfaction.
Published on Apr 24, 2020

The Efficacy of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Sciatica: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Conclusions. Acupuncture may be effective in treating the pain associated with sciatica. Ji, M., Wang, X., Chen, M., Shen, Y., Zhang, X., & Yang, J. (2015). The Efficacy of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Sciatica: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2015, 192808. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/192808
Published on Oct 14, 2022

The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Post-Operative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that certain modes of acupuncture improved postoperative pain on the first day after surgery and reduced opioid use. Our findings support the use of acupuncture as adjuvant therapy in treating postoperative pain. Wu, M. S., Chen, K. H., Chen, I. F., Huang, S. K., Tzeng, P. C., Yeh, M. L., Lee, F. P., Lin, J. G., & Chen, C. (2016). The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Post-Operative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PloS one, 11(3), e0150367. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0150367
Published on Oct 14, 2022

The persistence of the effects of acupuncture after a course of treatment: a meta-analysis of patients with chronic pain
The effects of a course of acupuncture treatment for patients with chronic pain do not seem to decrease importantly over 12 months. Patients can generally be reassured that treatment effects persist. Studies of the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture should take our findings into account when considering the time horizon of acupuncture effects. MacPherson, H., Vertosick, E. A., Foster, N. E., Lewith, G., Linde, K., Sherman, K. J., Witt, C. M., Vickers, A. J., & Acupuncture Trialists' Collaboration (2017). The persistence of the effects of acupuncture after a course of treatment: a meta-analysis of patients with chronic pain. Pain, 158(5), 784–793.
Published on May 1, 2017