Abstract
Electroacupuncture (EA) has been widely used in pain relief. Clinical evidence has revealed its unique advantages and effectiveness in alleviating pain. Studies on EA and pain relief have revealed that EA displays greater analgesic effects for different types of pain in comparison to manual acupuncture. Here, we reviewed the clinical application and mechanism of EA in treating osteoarthritic knee pain and its influence factors in curative effect.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Leung L. Neurophysiological basis of acupuncture-induced analgesia—an updated review. J Acupunct Merid Stud 2012;5:261–270.
Kim SY, Lee H, Chae Y, Park HJ, Lee H. A systematic review of cost-effectiveness analyses alongside randomised controlled trials of acupuncture. Acupunct Med 2012;30:273–285.
Manheimer E, Cheng K, Linde K, Lao L, Yoo J, Wieland S, et al. Acupuncture for peripheral joint osteoarthritis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010. doi: 10.1002/14651858. CD001977.
Hochberg MC, Altman RD, April KT, Benkhalti M, Guyatt G, Mcgowan J, et al. American College of Rheumatology 2012 recommendations for the use of nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapies in osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee. Arthritis Care Res 2012;64:465–474.
Cao L, Zhang XL, Gao YS, Jiang Y. Needle acupuncture for osteoarthritis of the knee. A systematic review and updated meta-analysis. Saudi Med J 2012;33:526–532.
Plaster R, Vieira WB, Alencar FA, Nakano EY, Liebano RE. Immediate effects of electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture on pain, mobility and muscle strength in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Acupunct Med 2014;32:236–241.
Chen N, Wang J, Mucelli A, Xu ZX, Wang C. Electroacupuncture is beneficial for knee osteoarthritis: the evidence from meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Am J Chin Med 2017;45:965–985.
Shen LL, Huang GF, Tian W, Yu LL, Yuan XC, Zhang ZQ, et al. Electroacupuncture inhibits chronification of the acute pain of knee osteoarthritis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials 2015;16:131.
Manyanga T, Froese M, Zarychanski R, Abou-Setta A, Friesen C, Tennenhouse M, et al. Pain management with acupuncture in osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complement Altern Med 2014;14:312.
Cabýoglu MT, Ergene N, Tan U. The mechanism of acupuncture and clinical applications. Int J Neurosci 2006;116:115–125.
Li A, Zhang Y, Lao L, Xin J, Ren K, Berman BM, et al. Serotonin receptor 2A/C is involved in electroacupuncture inhibition of pain in an osteoarthritis rat model. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2011;2011:619650.
Chen H, Shao X, Li L, Zheng C, Xu X, Hong X, et al. Electroacupuncture serum inhibits TNF a mediated chondrocyte inflammation via the Ras Raf MEK1/2 ERK1/2 signaling pathway. Mol Med Rep 2017;16:5807–5814.
Huang YR, Jin YL, Li N, Lei LD, Yu F, Li YB, et al. Effects of acupotomy, electroacupuncture or round-sharp acupuncture needle interventions on expression of Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase-3 proteins of rectus femoris in rabbits with knee ostarthritis. Acupunc Res 2014;39:100–105,123.
Taechaarpornkul W, Suvapan D, Theppanom C, Chanthipwaree C, Chirawatkul A. Comparison of the effectiveness of six and two acupuncture point regimens in osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomised trial. Acupunct Med 2009;27:3–8.
Qi L, Tang Y, You Y, Qin F, Zhai L, Peng H, et al. Comparing the effectiveness of electroacupuncture with different grades of knee osteoarthritis: a prospective study. Cell Physiol Biochem 2016;39:2331–2340.
Lin JG, Chen WL. Acupuncture analgesia: a review of its mechanisms of actions. Am J Chin Med 2008;36:635–645.
Seo BK, Park DS, Baek YH. The analgesic effect of electroacupuncture on inflammatory pain in the rat model of collagenase-induced arthritis: mediation by opioidergic receptors. Rheumatol Int 2013;33:1177–1183.
Seo BK, Sung WS, Park YC, Baek YH. The electroacupuncture-induced analgesic effect mediated by 5-HT1, 5-HT3 receptor and muscarinic cholinergic receptors in rat model of collagenase-induced osteoarthritis. BMC Complement Altern Med 2016;16:212.
Ju Z, Guo X, Jiang X, Wang X, Liu S, He J, et al. Electroacupuncture with different current intensities to treat knee osteoarthritis: a single-blinded controlled study. Int J Clin Exp Med 2015;8:18981–18989.
Egorova N, Gollub RL, Kong J. Repeated verum but not placebo acupuncture normalizes connectivity in brain regions dysregulated in chronic pain. Neuroimage Clin 2015;9:430–435.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Supported by the Project of Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission (No. 2014-514)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, J., Liu, Xx. Tackling Osteoarthritic Knee Pain with Electroacupuncture. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 24, 803–805 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-018-2929-3
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-018-2929-3