ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2013
Acupoint stimulation for fibromyalgia: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acupuncture for fibromyalgia syndrome: an overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture for the Relief of Chronic Pain: A Synthesis of Systematic Reviews.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2019Pooled it
- An overview of systematic reviews of complementary and alternative therapies for fibromyalgia using both AMSTAR and ROBIS as quality assessment tools.Systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Randomized Controlled Trial of Acupuncture for Women with Fibromyalgia: Group Acupuncture with Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnosis-Based Point Selection.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs) for Treatment of Fibromyalgia: A Comprehensive Clinical Review.Psychopharmacology bulletin · 2025Review
- Effects of acupuncture versus placebo on clinical status and potential specific effects in Fibromyalgia: an umbrella review of 11 meta-analyses.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2024Article
- Cupping (Hijama) in Rheumatic Diseases: The Evidence.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2021Review
- A comparison of two assessment tools used in overviews of systematic reviews: ROBIS versus AMSTAR-2.Systematic reviews · 2021Review
- Fibromyalgia: Recent Advances in Diagnosis, Classification, Pharmacotherapy and Alternative Remedies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Review
- Factors influencing participant compliance in acupuncture trials: An in-depth interview study.PloS one · 2020Article
- The Turkish Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (TSPMR) guideline recommendations for the management of fibromyalgia syndrome.Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2019Review
- Comparing Verum and Sham Acupuncture in Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2019Review
- Acupuncture therapy for fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of pain research · 2019Article
- Scoping review of systematic reviews of complementary medicine for musculoskeletal and mental health conditions.BMJ open · 2018Article
- Article
- Acupuncture for Pediatric Pain.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2014Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background. Acupoint stimulation is popular for treatment of fibromyalgia though there is lack of comprehensive evaluation of current clinical evidence for its effect and safety. Objective. To systematically review the beneficial effects and safety of acupoint stimulation for fibromyalgia. Methods. We searched six electronic databases for randomized trials on acupoint stimulation for treatment of fibromyalgia. Two authors extracted data and assessed the trial quality independently. RevMan 5.2 software was used for data analyses with effect estimate presented as (standard) mean difference and a 95% confidence interval. We defined minimum, medium, and large SMD effect sizes as 0.3, 0.5, and 0.75. Results. 16 RCTs with 1081 participants were involved in this review. Only two trials were evaluated as low risk of bias. Meta-analysis showed that acupuncture alone or combined with cupping therapy was superior to conventional medications on reducing pain scores and/or the number of tender points. However, acupuncture showed no better than sham acupuncture on pain reduction. There was no serious adverse event reported to be related to acupoint stimulation. Conclusions. Acupoint stimulation appears to be effective in treating fibromyalgia compared with medications. However, further large, rigorously designed trials are warranted due to insufficient methodological rigor in the included trials.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.