Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society
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To evaluate the efficacy/effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of hot flushes and its impact on serum hormone levels in menopausal women. ⋯ Acupuncture may not decrease hot flush frequency, but yet appears to have similar effects on serum hormone levels as HT, that is, increased E2 and decreased FSH and LH. Considering that no firm conclusions could be drawn due to the low quality and limited number of included trials included, further high-quality RCTs need to be conducted.
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To assess the efficacy, comparative effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) in the treatment of perimenopausal syndrome (PMS). ⋯ The effect of EA appeared broadly similar to HT and MA in the treatment of PMS, although EA-associated reductions in KI were superior to MA and sham EA, suggesting effects beyond placebo. The evidence base is limited by a small number of eligible studies, risk of bias and clinical/statistical heterogeneity, limiting our ability to draw firm conclusions. As such, additional larger scale, high-quality RCTs are needed.
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acupuncture/electroacupuncture, alone or combined with other interventions, on pain intensity, pain-related disability, and strength in lateral epicondylalgia (LE) of musculoskeletal origin. ⋯ Low-level evidence suggests positive effects of acupuncture, but not electroacupuncture, for pain, related-disability, and strength, in LE of musculoskeletal origin, in the short term.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Crossover effects of ultrasound-guided percutaneous neuromodulation on contralateral hamstring flexibility.
Crossover effects refer to the responses of a non-exercised contralateral limb. There is evidence of this effect, as it relates to muscle fatigue, strength, and stretch, but not as it relates to neuromodulation. ⋯ PNM produced benefits in the SLR test in the non-intervention limb and only 1.5 min was enough to obtain this effect. In addition, no technique interfered with muscle activation.
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To compare the effectiveness of electroacupuncture (EA) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain control in knee osteoarthritis (KOA). ⋯ The present analysis indicated that both EA and TENS exert significant pain relieving effects in KOA. Among the four treatments, H-TENS was found to be the optimal treatment choice for the management of KOA pain in the short-term, and EA the second best treatment option. Given that the application of TENS is recommended by various international guidelines for the treatment of KOA, EA may also represent a potentially effective non-pharmacologic therapy.