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Immediate effects of electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture on pain, mobility and muscle strength in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled trial [with consumer summary]
Plaster R, Vieira WB, Alencar FAD, Nakano EY, Liebano RE
Acupuncture in Medicine 2014 Jun;32(3):236-241
clinical trial
7/10 [Eligibility criteria: Yes; Random allocation: Yes; Concealed allocation: Yes; Baseline comparability: Yes; Blind subjects: No; Blind therapists: No; Blind assessors: Yes; Adequate follow-up: Yes; Intention-to-treat analysis: No; Between-group comparisons: Yes; Point estimates and variability: Yes. Note: Eligibility criteria item does not contribute to total score] *This score has been confirmed*

OBJECTIVE: To compare the immediate effects of electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture on pain, mobility and muscle strength in patients with knee osteoarthritis. METHODS: Sixty patients with knee osteoarthritis, with a pain intensity of > 2 on the pain numerical rating scale, were included. The patients were randomised into two groups: manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture. Pain intensity, degree of dysfunction (Timed Up and Go (TUG) test), maximal voluntary isometric contraction and pressure pain threshold were assessed before and after a single session of manual acupuncture or electroacupuncture treatments. RESULTS: Both groups showed a significant reduction in pain intensity (p < 0.001) and time to run the TUG test after the acupuncture treatment (p = 0.005 for the manual acupuncture group and p = 0.002 for the electroacupuncture group). There were no differences between the groups regarding pain intensity (p = 0.25), TUG test (p = 0.70), maximum voluntary isometric contraction (p = 0.43) or pressure pain threshold (p = 0.27). CONCLUSIONS: This study found no difference between the immediate effects of a single session of manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture on pain, muscle strength and mobility in patients with knee osteoarthritis. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: RBR-9TCN2X.

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