Australian researchers report no lasting benefits from acupuncture for chronic knee pain. The study included 282 middle aged volunteers with osteoarthritis. They were randomized into four groups. One received no treatment while another group got acupuncture with needles. The third group was treated with low-intensity lasers on the acupuncture points while the fourth group was also treated with the laser devices but the lasers were not activated. This was the sham acupuncture treatment.
After three months participants who received both needle and laser acupuncture had reduced pain compared to those who had received no treatment. There was no significant difference between the real acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups.
Nine months after the treatment stopped, there were no differences between any of the groups. The researchers interpret this as demonstrating no benefit from acupuncture, though there are few treatments that produce long lasting relief once they are discontinued.
