Thread Embedding Acupuncture Outperforms TENS and Drug Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis Pain and Function

Related Articles

Electroacupuncture Significantly Reduces Pain in Postherpetic Neuralgia in Large Randomised Trial

1 hour ago

Scalp Acupuncture and Nerve Growth Factor Injections Boost Recovery After Stroke-Related Cognitive Impairment

7 days ago

Acupuncture Identified as a Key Neuromuscular Intervention for Post-Stroke Swallowing Difficulties

7 days ago

This randomised controlled trial, published in Clinical Rheumatology, investigated three treatments for knee osteoarthritis in 72 patients aged 50 to 65 years: a single session of thread embedding acupuncture at ten acupoints, four weeks of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (four sessions per week), and four weeks of ibuprofen taken twice daily. All participants also received a low daily dose of acetaminophen. Researchers assessed pain intensity, physical function using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, quality of life, and serum interleukin-6 levels at the start of the study, at four weeks, and at twelve weeks.

By week twelve, thread embedding acupuncture produced the greatest reductions in pain and the largest improvements in quality of life compared with both transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and drug therapy. Both thread embedding acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation significantly reduced Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scores, whereas drug therapy did not achieve a statistically significant improvement on this measure. Notably, thread embedding acupuncture was associated with a significant rise in serum interleukin-6, which the authors interpret as reflecting immunomodulatory and tissue-repair mechanisms rather than harmful inflammation. Drug therapy showed no significant effect on pain scores at twelve weeks.

The authors acknowledge the small sample size and call for larger trials with longer follow-up periods to confirm these findings.

Conclusion: A single session of thread embedding acupuncture appears to provide superior and more sustained improvements in pain, physical function, and quality of life compared with four weeks of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation or ibuprofen in patients with knee osteoarthritis, with a potentially beneficial immunomodulatory mechanism warranting further investigation.

Source: Nematshahi M, Mirhamidi M, Farkhani EM and colleagues. Clinical rheumatology (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42319619) · doi:10.1007/s10067-026-08197-6

Please leave this field empty

Hi there!

Sign up to receive the latest research in acupuncture, cupping, moxibustion, Chinese herbal medicine and more, once a week.

You’re on the list!