Effects of Acupuncture to Treat Fibromyalgia: a Preliminary Randomised Controlled Trial

Overview

Journal Chin Med

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Biomedical Engineering

Date 2010 Mar 25

PMID 20331844

Citations 10

Authors

Kazunori Itoh

Hiroshi Kitakoji

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Acupuncture is often used to treat fibromyalgia (FM), but it remains unclear whether acupuncture is effective. This study aims to evaluate the effects of acupuncture on pain and quality of life (QoL) in FM patients.

Methods: Sixteen patients (13 women and 3 men aged 25-63 years) suffering from FM were randomised into two groups: group A (n = 8) received five acupuncture treatments after the fifth week and group B received ten acupuncture treatments. Outcome measures used in this study were pain intensity (visual analogue scale, VAS) and the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ).

Results: After the fifth week, pain intensity (U = 25.0; P = 0.022) in group B decreased and QoL (U = 24.5; P = 0.026) improved compared to group A.

Conclusion: The present study suggests that acupuncture treatment is effective to relieve pain for FM patients in terms of QoL and FIQ.

Citing Articles

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Zhang X, Chen H, Xu W, Song Y, Gu Y, Ni G J Pain Res. 2019; 12:527-542.

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