Trial reportArthritis research & therapy2019
Effects of intensity of electroacupuncture on chronic pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Arthritis research & therapy, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07640126 (Three-Needle Dazhui Combined With Electroacupuncture for Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy and Wind-Cold Syndrome), which is not on this map. Cited by 79 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.
Three-Needle Dazhui Combined With Electroacupuncture for Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy and Wind-Cold Syndrome: A Randomized, Single-Blind, Controlled Trial Evaluating Pain and Neck Disability
Who cites it
79 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 114 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Effectiveness of physical therapies for patients with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Durable Effect of Acupuncture for Chronic Neck Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Current pain and headache reports · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of different intensities of percutaneous electrolysis for musculoskeletal pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of externally-applied, non-pharmacological Interventions on short- and long-term symptoms and inflammatory cytokine levels in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Pooled it
- Adjunctive therapies in addition to land-based exercise therapy for osteoarthritis of the hip or knee.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Acupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials with Meta-Analyses and Trial Sequential Analyses.BioMed research international · 2022Pooled it
- Current status and research gaps of neuromodulation in the rehabilitation of knee osteoarthritis: a scoping review.Frontiers in neurologyPooled it
- Combination Treatment with Thread-Embedding Acupuncture and Electroacupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis Patients with Postoperative Pain: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study.Journal of pain research · 2025Trial
- Article
- Clinical study on Knee Three Needles combined with ultra-short wave for knee osteoarthritis.Medicine · 2026Article
- Differential physiological responses to electroacupuncture at ST36 and SP6 in CFA-induced inflammatory arthritis: serum metabolomic evidence for acupoint-specific redox regulation.The journal of physiological sciences : JPS · 2026Article
- Electroacupuncture for knee osteoarthritis: a multicentre randomised controlled trial assessing symptomatic and structural efficacy.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Non-Pharmacological Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Sympathetic regulation of bone homeostasis and remodeling: molecular mechanisms, pathophysiological roles, and therapeutic implications.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Pain Modulation, Inflammation-Regulatory Mechanisms, and Translational Boundaries of Evidence for Acupuncture-Related Therapies in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Structured Narrative Review.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Potential mechanisms of acupuncture in regulating neuroinflammation and central sensitization in chronic pain: a narrative review of preclinical, clinical, and translational evidence.American journal of translational research · 2026Review
- Electroacupuncture combined with subanesthetic alfaxalone as a novel target for alleviating neuropathic pain.Pain reports · 2025Article
- The cumulative analgesic effect of repeated electroacupuncture is modulated by Adora3 in the SCDH of mice with neuropathic pain.Animal models and experimental medicine · 2025Article
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 8 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundConditioned pain modulation (CPM) is impaired in people with chronic pain such as knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The purpose of this randomized, controlled clinical trial was to investigate whether strong electroacupuncture (EA) was more effective on chronic pain by strengthening the CPM function than weak EA or sham EA in patients with KOA.
methodsIn this multicenter, three-arm parallel, single-blind randomized controlled trial, 301 patients with KOA were randomly assigned. Patients were randomized into three groups based on EA current intensity: strong EA (> 2 mA), weak EA (< 0.5 mA), and sham EA (non-acupoint). Treatments consisted of five sessions per week, for 2 weeks. Primary outcome measures were visual analog scale (VAS), CPM function, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC).
resultsThree hundred one patients with KOA were randomly assigned, among which 271 (90.0%) completed the study (mean age 63.93 years old). One week of EA had a clinically important improvement in VAS and WOMAC but not in CPM function. After 2 weeks treatment, EA improved VAS, CPM, and WOMAC compared with baseline. Compared with sham EA, weak EA (3.8; 95% CI 3.45, 4.15; P < .01) and strong EA (13.54; 95% CI 13.23, 13.85; P < .01) were better in improving CPM function. Compared with weak EA, strong EA was better in enhancing CPM function (9.73; 95% CI 9.44, 10.02; P < .01), as well as in reducing VAS and total WOMAC score.
conclusionEA should be administered for at least 2 weeks to exert a clinically important effect on improving CPM function of KOA patients. Strong EA is better than weak or sham EA in alleviating pain intensity and inhibiting chronic pain.
trial registrationThis study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( ChiCTR-ICR-14005411 ), registered on 31 October 2014.
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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.