PURPOSE: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of various acutherapies on knee osteoarthritis (KOA) relief in the elderly. METHODS: Five databases were accessed from inception to July 2017 for searching randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acutherapy for KOA relief in the elderly. Data were pooled after trial quality assessment for meta-analysis. Outcomes were the scores of knee pain, knee stiffness, and physical function accessed by Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) Index. RESULTS: 17 RCTs including 4774 subjects were included. The results indicated that acutherapy significantly affected knee pain (standardized mean difference ie, SMD -0.73 (95% CI -0.98 to -0.47), p < 0.001), knee stiffness (SMD -0.66 (95%CI -0.85 to -0.47), p < 0.001), and physical function (SMD -1.56 (95%CI -2.17 to -0.95), p < 0.001) when compared with control condition without intervention of any acutherapy. Moreover, acutherapy was more effective than corresponding sham (placebo) intervention applied on nonacupoints (SMD -0.16 (95% CI -0.32 to -0.01), p = 0.04). However, no significant differences were found on treatment effects between acutherapy and sham acutherapy at the same acupoints (SMD -0.09 (95%CI -0.40 to 0.21), p = 0.55). CONCLUSIONS: Acutherapy was an effective approach for KOA relief in the elderly. The selection of acupoints position could be a crucial factor that influences the treatment efficacy of acutherapy.

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