Effect of Distal Needling on Knee Pain Using Acupuncture Techniques

Complete Tear, Knee, Anterior Cruciate Ligament Clinical Trial

Official title: Comparison of Different Acupuncture Methods on Knee Pain

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to test if specific therapeutic benefits of acupuncture are mostly attributable to contextual and psychosocial factors, such as patients' beliefs and expectations.The investigators propose using the 2 acupuncture methods, which refrains from inserting needles in the affected area, in order to evaluate the short-term and long-term efficacy of acupuncture in a clinical setting compared with placebo and compared with invasive needling that does not adhere to "correct" acupuncture rules.

Clinical Trial Description

The main novel features of this study:

1. First aim to assess the effect of distal needling on knee pain

2. Second aim to directly compare two acupuncture techniques, placebo, needling at "wrong" places and "correct" needling for knee pain

Advantages of the study compared to published data:

1. Distal needling - enables assessment of range of motion (ROM) and pain level during needling.

2. Both acupuncture systems rely on minimal questioning, which simplifies the patient-practitioner interactions.

3. Exploratory studies in the clinic of DP show that it is possible to distinguish between "correct" and "incorrect" needling, at least in the short term. Long term effects have not been assessed yet. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Complete Tear, Knee, Anterior Cruciate Ligament
• Patellar Tendonitis
• Tendinopathy

• NCT number: NCT01612663
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Hadassah Medical Organization
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: June 2012
• Completion date: June 1, 2015