Auricular therapy for chronic pain management in adults: A synthesis of evidence

Hong Jia Zhao; Jing Yu Tan; Tao Wang; Lang Jin

doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.03.006

Auricular therapy for chronic pain management in adults: A synthesis of evidence

Hong Jia Zhao, Jing Yu Tan, Tao Wang, Lang Jin

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of auricular therapy (AT) on chronic pain.

Methods: A systematic review. Randomized controlled trials investigating AT for chronic pain were retrieved and RevMan 5.3 was used for meta-analysis.

Results: Fifteen trials were included. The overall assessment indicated that AT could be a promising intervention for chronic pain relief. Meta-analyses showed that AT decreased pain intensity, especially for chronic low back pain and chronic tension headache. The lasting effect of AT was not obvious, and it began to diminish 3 months after the completion of treatment.

Conclusions: AT may positively control pain intensity for patients with chronic pain. However, due to the significant heterogeneity and methodological flaws identified in the analyzed trials, the current evidence on AT for chronic pain management is still uncertain. More rigorously designed large-scale randomized controlled trials are required to evaluate the efficacy of AT for patients with chronic pain.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	68-78
Number of pages	11
Journal	Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
Volume	21
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.03.006
Publication status	Published - May 2015
Externally published	Yes

Access to Document

10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.03.006

Cite this

@article{13a3c4d95cd34f77b9ace42f8c870a4e,

title = "Auricular therapy for chronic pain management in adults: A synthesis of evidence",

abstract = "Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of auricular therapy (AT) on chronic pain. Methods: A systematic review. Randomized controlled trials investigating AT for chronic pain were retrieved and RevMan 5.3 was used for meta-analysis. Results: Fifteen trials were included. The overall assessment indicated that AT could be a promising intervention for chronic pain relief. Meta-analyses showed that AT decreased pain intensity, especially for chronic low back pain and chronic tension headache. The lasting effect of AT was not obvious, and it began to diminish 3 months after the completion of treatment. Conclusions: AT may positively control pain intensity for patients with chronic pain. However, due to the significant heterogeneity and methodological flaws identified in the analyzed trials, the current evidence on AT for chronic pain management is still uncertain. More rigorously designed large-scale randomized controlled trials are required to evaluate the efficacy of AT for patients with chronic pain. ",

keywords = "acupuncture, adult, aged, analgesia, chronic pain, female, human, male, meta analysis, middle aged, procedures, very elderly, young adult, Acupuncture, Ear, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Chronic Pain, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pain Management, Young Adult",

author = "Zhao, {Hong Jia} and Tan, {Jing Yu} and Tao Wang and Lang Jin",

year = "2015",

month = may,

doi = "10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.03.006",

language = "English",

volume = "21",

pages = " 68--78",

journal = "Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice",

issn = "1744-3881",

publisher = "Churchill Livingstone",

number = "2",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Auricular therapy for chronic pain management in adults

T2 - A synthesis of evidence

AU - Zhao, Hong Jia

AU - Tan, Jing Yu

AU - Wang, Tao

AU - Jin, Lang

PY - 2015/5

Y1 - 2015/5

N2 - Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of auricular therapy (AT) on chronic pain. Methods: A systematic review. Randomized controlled trials investigating AT for chronic pain were retrieved and RevMan 5.3 was used for meta-analysis. Results: Fifteen trials were included. The overall assessment indicated that AT could be a promising intervention for chronic pain relief. Meta-analyses showed that AT decreased pain intensity, especially for chronic low back pain and chronic tension headache. The lasting effect of AT was not obvious, and it began to diminish 3 months after the completion of treatment. Conclusions: AT may positively control pain intensity for patients with chronic pain. However, due to the significant heterogeneity and methodological flaws identified in the analyzed trials, the current evidence on AT for chronic pain management is still uncertain. More rigorously designed large-scale randomized controlled trials are required to evaluate the efficacy of AT for patients with chronic pain.

AB - Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of auricular therapy (AT) on chronic pain. Methods: A systematic review. Randomized controlled trials investigating AT for chronic pain were retrieved and RevMan 5.3 was used for meta-analysis. Results: Fifteen trials were included. The overall assessment indicated that AT could be a promising intervention for chronic pain relief. Meta-analyses showed that AT decreased pain intensity, especially for chronic low back pain and chronic tension headache. The lasting effect of AT was not obvious, and it began to diminish 3 months after the completion of treatment. Conclusions: AT may positively control pain intensity for patients with chronic pain. However, due to the significant heterogeneity and methodological flaws identified in the analyzed trials, the current evidence on AT for chronic pain management is still uncertain. More rigorously designed large-scale randomized controlled trials are required to evaluate the efficacy of AT for patients with chronic pain.

KW - acupuncture

KW - adult

KW - aged

KW - analgesia

KW - chronic pain

KW - female

KW - human

KW - male

KW - meta analysis

KW - middle aged

KW - procedures

KW - very elderly

KW - young adult, Acupuncture, Ear

KW - Adult

KW - Aged

KW - Aged, 80 and over

KW - Chronic Pain

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Pain Management

KW - Young Adult

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84928766602&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.03.006

DO - 10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.03.006

M3 - Article

C2 - 25921554

VL - 21

SP - 68

EP - 78

JO - Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice

JF - Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice

SN - 1744-3881

IS - 2

ER -

Auricular therapy for chronic pain management in adults: A synthesis of evidence

Abstract

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this