SynthesisPain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain2015
Acupuncture for acute postoperative pain after back surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers, 9 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
52 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 97 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of acupuncture for pain relief in patients receiving extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Acupuncture Therapy as an Evidence-Based Nonpharmacologic Strategy for Comprehensive Acute Pain Care: The Academic Consortium Pain Task Force White Paper Update.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2022Pooled it
- Clinical efficacy of acupuncture for pain relief from renal colic: A meta-analysis and trial sequence analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Acupuncture for palliative cancer pain management: systematic review.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Traditional Chinese acupuncture and postpartum depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2019Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Auricular Acupressure for Acute Postoperative Pain after Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Naturopathic Treatment and Complementary Medicine in Surgical Practice.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2018Pooled it
- 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists for Propofol Injection Pain: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Clinical drug investigation · 2016Pooled it
- Effects of Fu's Subcutaneous Needling on Postoperative Pain in Patients Receiving Surgery for Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Disorders: A Single-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2024Trial
- Short-term effect of electroacupuncture on rehabilitation after arthroscopic triangular fibrocartilage complex repair: a randomised study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Acupuncture for postoperative rehabilitation in degenerative lumbar spinal diseases: mechanisms and clinical evidence.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Review
- Assessment of acute pain and its management in an urban emergency department in Ghana.PloS one · 2026Article
- Integration of Mindfulness and Acupuncture After Spine Surgery: Protocol for a Randomized Acceptability and Feasibility Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Locus Coeruleus Noradrenergic-Spinal Projections Contribute to Electroacupuncture-Mediated Antinociception in Postoperative Pain in Mice.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Clinical Outcomes of Integrative Korean Medicine Treatment in Patients with Neck Pain Following Cervical Disc Surgery: A Multi-Center Retrospective Study.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesAcupuncture is commonly used as a complimentary treatment for pain management. However, there has been no systematic review summarizing the current evidence concerning the effectiveness of acupuncture for acute postoperative pain after back surgery. This systematic review aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for acute postoperative pain (≤1 week) after back surgery.
methodsWe searched 15 electronic databases without language restrictions. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for eligibility and extracted data, outcomes, and risk of bias. Random effect meta-analyses and subgroup analyses were performed.
resultsFive trials, including 3 of high quality, met our inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed positive results for acupuncture treatment of pain after surgery in terms of the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain intensity 24 hours after surgery, when compared to sham acupuncture (standard mean difference -0.67 (-1.04 to -0.31), P = 0.0003), whereas the other meta-analysis did not show a positive effect of acupuncture on 24-hour opiate demands when compared to sham acupuncture (standard mean difference -0.23 (-0.58 to 0.13), P = 0.21).
conclusionOur systematic review finds encouraging but limited evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for acute postoperative pain after back surgery. Further rigorously designed clinical trials are required.
Indexed as
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.