Effectiveness of Acupuncture and Electroacupuncture for Chronic Neck Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Effectiveness of Acupuncture and Electroacupuncture for Chronic Neck Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Am J Chin Med. 2017 Nov 09;:1-23 Authors: Seo SY, Lee KB, Shin JS, Lee J, Kim MR, Ha IH, Ko Y, Lee YJ Abstract The aim of this systematic review was to assess evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture and electroacupuncture in patients with chronic neck pain. We searched nine databases including Chinese, Japanese and Korean databases through 30 July 2016. The participants were adults with chronic neck pain and were treated with acupuncture or electroacupuncture. Eligible trials were those with intervention groups receiving acupuncture and electroacupuncture with or without active control, and control groups receiving other conventional treatments such as physical therapy or medication. Outcomes included pain intensity, disability, quality of life (QoL) and adverse effects. For statistical pooling, the standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a fixed-effects model. Sixteen RCTs were selected. The comparison of the sole acupuncture group and the active control group did not come out with a significant difference in pain (SMD 0.24, 95% CI [Formula: see text]0.27-0.75), disability (SMD 0.51, 95% CI [Formula: see text]0.01-1.02), or QoL (SMD [Formula: see text]0.37, 95% CI [Formula: see text]1.09-0.35), showing a similar...
Source: The American Journal of Chinese Medicine - Category: Complementary Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Chin Med Source Type: research