Acupuncture For Knee Pain

By Y.C. Chan, OMD, Dipl Ac

Acupuncture Clinic of Maryland

More Complementary & Integrative Healthcare Articles

Acupuncture For Knee Pain

Knee pain is a common and complicated medical problem among children and adults. Prior to any treatment, your doctor may ask you many questions which relate to your knee condition, such as questions about your medical history, severity of the pain, combination of discomforts, degree of pain while doing certain activities, pain level during the day/night, and how the pain relates to the back, legs, or ankles. In addition, certain types of the pain must be identified, such as burning, stabbing, tingling, aching, pinching, etc.

A patient's knee pain may be caused by many factors, such as a torn or ruptured ligament, a broken or fractured kneecap, torn cartilage, damage to the joint, strains of the knee beyond its normal range of motion, as well as infections, arthritis, osteoarthritis, and being overweight. Many athletes experience knee injuries, particularly to the knee ligaments, however anyone rapidly twisting or changing the body direction, slowing down when running or landing improperly may cause a knee injury.

Knee pain can be treated in a variety of ways from over-the-counter remedies to surgery, from ice pads to physical therapy. Complementary and alternative medicine is an additional option to treat knee pain, particularly acupuncture, which can effectively reduce knee pain without side effects. However, prior to treatment, a proper medical exam and diagnosis is necessary.

Acupuncture has shown promise in treating knee pain. There is an overwhelming amount of research to support the efficacy of acupuncture for knee pain, and also many positive responses when knee pain is combined with other symptoms, such as, stiffness, weakness, tingling, swelling, as well as inflammation.

A study conducted by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and sponsored by NIH, included 570 patients who received acupuncture and sham acupuncture treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee. The acupuncture treatment group showed improvement in body function and pain relief in comparison to the sham acupuncture group of patients. Seven other clinical trials, which included a total of 393 patients treated by acupuncture and sham acupuncture, showed strong evidence that acupuncture is very effective for knee pain, and has been proven to be more effective than sham acupuncture. However, future research should define optimal acupuncture treatment, measure quality of life and assess acupuncture combined with other modalities.