Acupuncture and Fibromyalgia
Date First Published:
July 9, 2012
Last Updated:
February 11, 2017
Report by:
Laura Goldie, Rotational Physiotherapist (Manchester Royal Infirmary)
Search checked by:
Kerstin Hogg, Manchester Royal Infirmary
Three-Part Question:
In [adults with Fibromyalgia] does [acupuncture] have an effect on [reducing pain].
Clinical Scenario:
A 42-year-old female with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia is assessed by a physiotherapist in an out-patient department. The patient is presenting with widespread pain, which is impairing her function. You wonder whether acupuncture is an effective treatment to use with your patient to decrease pain.
Search Strategy:
MEDLINE 1946-06/16, EMBASE 1974-06/16.
[Exp. Acupuncture] and [Exp. Fibromyalgia].
[Exp. Acupuncture] and [Exp. Fibromyalgia].
Outcome:
Five hundred and fifty-six articles were retrieved. One Cochrane review has been included with completed search up to 2012. Subsequent publications were included as five additional papers
Relevant Paper(s):
| Study Title | Patient Group | Study type (level of evidence) | Outcomes | Key results | Study Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acupuncture for treating fibromyalgia. Deare JC , Zheng Z , Xue CCL , et al . 2013 | Systematic Cochrane review | Systematic review of randomised and quasi-randomised studies evaluating any type of invasive acupuncture for fibromyalgia | FOR PAIN Acupuncture versus non-acupuncture treatment Acupuncture versus placebo or sham acupuncture Acupuncture versus medication Acupuncture as an adjunct therapy Deep needling with stimulation (T/S) versus deep needling without stimulation | Favours acupuncture (N=13)<br><br>No significant difference (N=286)<br><br>Favours acupuncture (N=38) Favours acupuncture as an adjunct (N=58) No significant difference (N=41) | Extensive search of many databases including Chinese. No language restrictions |
| Short-term improvement following dry needle stimulation of tender points in fibromyalgia. Casanueva B , Rivas P , Rodero B , et al . 2014 Spain | 120 patients with fibromyalgia | Open-label randomised controlled trial (RCT): six sessions of weekly dry needling, 1 h per week+standard treatment (N=60) versus Standard treatment (N=60) |
Visual analogue score for pain post-treatment | Dry needling 6.5 (2.1) Standard care 8.0 (1.3) p=0.002 | Multiple outcomes assessed Open label |
| A Randomized prospective study to assess the effectiveness of several therapeutic procedures of traditional Chinese medicine in alleviation of pain and improvement in the standard of living in patien Collazo E , Munoz R , Aragones MA , et al . 2014 Spain | 99 patients with fibromyalgia | RCT Acupuncture versus moxibustion versus scalp acupuncture | Pain Scale | Pain scale showed the most improvement by 6 months in the scalp acupuncture group | This is a report from the abstract. It was not possible to source the paper No details given on the type of pain scale, the outcome data or statistical comparisons |
| Conference: 16th Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology Congress Cebu City Philippines . Conference Publication Khabbazi A , Kolahi S , Tabatabaee M , et al . Acupuncture and fluoxetine versus fluoxetine in fibromyalgia. 2014 Iran | 90 patients with fibromyalgia | RCT: Acupuncture versus acupuncture+fluoxetine versus fluoxetine |
Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire | Total number of symptoms were lowest in the acupuncture and the acupuncture+fluoxetine groups (p<0.0001) | Did not measure pain alone as an outcome Conference abstract only |
| [Acupuncture in fibromyalgia: a randomized, controlled study addressing the immediate pain response] Stival RS , Cavalheiroa PR , Stasiaka CE , et al . 2014 Brazil | 36 patients with fibromyalgia from a rheumatology clinic | RCT: Acupuncture versus sham acupuncture |
Mean change in visual analogue scale for pain (0–10) from before to after one session of treatment | Acupuncture −1.70±1.55 Sham −4.36±3.23 | Small sample |
| Short-term complementary and alternative medicine on quality of life in women with fibromyalgia. Dias PA , Guimarães AB , Albuquerque Ade O , et al . 2016 Brazil | 30 women with fibromyalgia from a pain clinic | Open-label RCT: Randomised to acupuncture versus electroacupuncture versus moxibustion |
Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale Number of tender points with pain-pressure threshold <4 kg/cm2 | No difference between modalities in either outcomes | Small sample size No placebo or sham therapy |
Bottom Line:
Acupuncture may reduce pain in fibromyalgia syndrome. Most studies do not report on long-term pain outcomes and there are no large-scale studies.
References:
- Deare JC , Zheng Z , Xue CCL , et al . . Acupuncture for treating fibromyalgia.
- Casanueva B , Rivas P , Rodero B , et al .. Short-term improvement following dry needle stimulation of tender points in fibromyalgia.
- Collazo E , Munoz R , Aragones MA , et al . . A Randomized prospective study to assess the effectiveness of several therapeutic procedures of traditional Chinese medicine in alleviation of pain and improvement in the standard of living in patien
- Khabbazi A , Kolahi S , Tabatabaee M , et al . Acupuncture and fluoxetine versus fluoxetine in fibromyalgia. . Conference: 16th Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology Congress Cebu City Philippines . Conference Publication
- Stival RS , Cavalheiroa PR , Stasiaka CE , et al .. [Acupuncture in fibromyalgia: a randomized, controlled study addressing the immediate pain response]
- Dias PA , Guimarães AB , Albuquerque Ade O , et al . . Short-term complementary and alternative medicine on quality of life in women with fibromyalgia.