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What is the evidence for acupuncture in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the shoulder?

Summary

Patient Population:

No information on the patient population was provided.

Intervention:

The acupuncture techniques varied from study to study.

Comparison:

Acupuncture was compared to a no-treatment group and a sham acupuncture group. 35 studies were identified for inclusion in the systematic review; 29 studies were included in the patient-level meta-analysis. Nine studies, in the systematic review, included only patients with OA, while 4 focused on the treatment of shoulder pain.  The authors identified significant clinical heterogeneity in terms of both the sham treatments and the non-acupuncture control or “usual care” interventions offered to the comparison groups.

Outcome:

  1. Pain: acupuncture vs. sham-acupuncture (5 studies) – significant difference in favour of acupuncture (SD = 0.26; 95% CI = 0.17 to 0.3 using fixed analysis methods; significant heterogeneity was identified).
  2. Pain: sham acupuncture vs. no acupuncture – significant difference in favour of sham treatment (ES=0.33; 95% CI 0.20 to 0.56).

Guideline Recommendations

Source Recommendation
AAOS 2013 Strong Evidence Against
NICE 2014 Do Not Recommend
ACOEM 2011 Level C

Outcomes Assessed

  • Benefit
  • Harm
  • Inconclusive

Acupuncture vs. Sham Acupuncture

Pain

Sham Acupuncture vs. No Acupuncture

Pain

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