Acupuncture as an Adjuvant Modality With Physical Therapy for Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Abstract

Context:

Knee osteoarthritis is a prevalent condition that is often accompanied by pain and limited mobility. Acupuncture has been suggested as a potential treatment for osteoarthritis, particularly in conjunction with other modalities such as physical therapy (PT).

Objective:

To critically evaluate the literature investigating the efficacy of acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment for knee osteoarthritis in conjunction with or in comparison to PT treatment programs.

Design and Sources:

This literature review included studies that incorporated a PT protocol along with true or sham acupuncture. The goal was to identify specific PT and acupuncture protocols used and to determine if a specific treatment had a more beneficial effect on functional mobility or pain. Criteria for article selection included diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis and the use of acupuncture and PT. The following electronic databases were searched between January 2007 and January 2008: EBSCO Host, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Cochrane Database, and Healthsource.

Results:

Seven studies were identified for use in this review. There was high variability among the PT and acupuncture protocols used in the studies. Of the 6 studies with published results, only 2 compared acupuncture directly to PT.

Conclusions:

Because acupuncture has become popular in the United States, it is important to ascertain effectiveness of acupuncture compared with conventional treatment. There are limited publications concerning the use of acupuncture in combination with or in comparison to PT treatment. Published studies have high variability in protocols for both acupuncture and PT, making it difficult to make accurate conclusions.