Meta-Analysis: Effect of Acupunture Therapy to Reduce Osteoarthritis Pain

doi:10.26911/AB.ICPH.09.2022.74

Authors

Mehdya Vikia Murti1), Hanung Prasetya2), Rita Benya Andriani3)
~ Author

Abstract

Background: Pain is the primary symptom of osteoarthritis (OA), and it can present as either intermittent or constant. Unlike many other pain conditions in which the underlying injury typically heals or resolves, OA is a disease that does not resolve. Treatment is focused on symptom management, with nonpharmacologic therapies being the preferred first line of treatment. Acupuncture is considered a potentially useful treatment for osteoarthritis. This study aimed to examine the effect of acupunture therapy to reduce osteoarthritis pain.

Subjects and Method: A systematic review and meta analysis was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guideline and checklist. A systematic search was conducted from PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases. Eligibility criteria are based on the PICO approach, i.e Population= OA patients, Intervention= acupuncture therapy, Comparison= without acupuncture therapy, and Outcome= OA pain. This study included randomized controlled trials which published between 2004 and 2021. The search was conducted using the following keywords: ((acupuncture) AND (Osteoarthritis) AND (Pain). In the meta-analyses, the effect size of the intervention was calculated using the RevMan 5.3 program of the Cochrane Library. To assess the effect estimate of the selected RCTs, the mean and standard deviation values were pooled to obtain the mean difference and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The I² statistic was used to assess the heterogeneity among the studies analysed.

Results: There were 9 randomized controlled trials from Australia, Korea, Turkey, Hongkong, New york, United Kingdom, and China. This study showed that OA patients with acupunture therapy had lower pain 0.97 units than those whitout acupunture therapy (SMD= -0.97; 95 % CI= -1.67 to -0.26; p= 0.007), with I²= 97%; p= 0.001.

Conclusion: Acupuncture therapy is effective to reduce osteoarthritis pain.

Keywords: acupuncture, pain, osteoarthritis, meta-analysis.

Correspondence: Mehdya Vikia Murti. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret. Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta, Central Java 57126. Email: Mehdyvikiamurti@gmail.com. Mobile: 0895363037033.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/AB.ICPH.09.2022.74