ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2021
Electroacupuncture as an Adjuvant Approach to Rehabilitation during Postacute Phase after Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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
5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of electroacupuncture on pain after periodontal flap surgery: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2025Trial
- Comparing 2-Hz and 100-Hz Electroacupuncture for Postoperative Musculoskeletal Pain: Protocol for a 2 × 2 Prospective Randomized Crossover Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Nanocomposite hydrogel acupoint therapy for sustained pregabalin delivery and long-term neuropathic pain relief.Materials today. Bio · 2026Article
- Electroacupuncture for Pain Outcomes in a Trauma Center's Acute Pain Service: A Retrospective Observational Study.Medical acupuncture · 2023Article
- Preoperative Predictors of Prolonged Hospital Stay in Accelerated Rehabilitation for Patients Undergoing Orthopedic Surgery.Bioinorganic chemistry and applications · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIncreasing attention has been paid to electroacupuncture (EA) for promoting postoperative rehabilitation, but the effectiveness of EA for rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) remains obscure.
objectiveTo examine the effect of EA on rehabilitation after TKA.
methodsDatabase searches on PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were carried out to obtain articles, from inception to 15 October 2020. All identified articles were screened, and data from each included study were extracted independently by two investigators. Meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effects of acupuncture on pain, range of knee motion, and postoperative vomiting after TKA.
resultsIn the current study, a total of ten randomized clinical trials were included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Compared to basic treatment, EA combined with basic treatment showed a significantly greater pain reduction on 3, 7, and 14 days postoperatively after TKA. However, we found that EA had no significant improvement in enhancing the range of knee motion and decreasing the percentage of vomiting. Subgroup analysis suggested that a combination of EA and rehabilitation training was superior to rehabilitation training in pain relief, while EA combined with celecoxib capsules showed no significant difference in improving pain compared to celecoxib capsules alone.
conclusionsIn the postacute phase after TKA, EA, as a supplementary treatment, could reduce postoperative pain, but no evidence supported the benefits of EA for improving ROM of knee and decreasing the ratio of vomiting. Additional high-quality and large-scale RCTs are warranted.
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.