A randomized controlled trial of acupuncture added to usual treatment for fibromyalgia.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture for fibromyalgia.


METHODS
Fifty-eight women with fibromyalgia were allocated randomly to receive either acupuncture together with tricyclic antidepressants and exercise (n=34), or tricyclic antidepressants and exercise only (n=24). Patients rated their pain on a visual analogue scale. A blinded assessor evaluated both the mean pressure pain threshold value over all 18 fibromyalgia points and quality of life using SF-36.


RESULTS
At the end of 20 sessions, patients who received acupuncture were significantly better than the control group in all measures of pain and in 5 of the SF-36 subscales. After 6 months, the acupuncture group was significantly better than the control group in numbers of tender points, mean pressure pain threshold at the 18 tender points and 3 subscales of SF-36. After one year, the acupuncture group showed significance in one subscale of the SF-36; at 2 years there were no significant differences in any outcome measures.


CONCLUSIONS
Addition of acupuncture to usual treatments for fibromyalgia may be beneficial for pain and quality of life for 3 months after the end of treatment. Future research is needed to evaluate the specific effects of acupuncture for fibromyalgia.
Targino
Rosa Alves
RA
Departamento de Patologia, Avenida Doutor Arnaldo 455, Sao Paulo, Brazil. targino@usp.br
Imamura
Marta
M
Kaziyama
Helena H S
HH
Souza
Luiz P M
LP
Hsing
Wu Tu
WT
Furlan
Andréa D
AD
Imamura
Satiko Tomikawa
ST
Azevedo Neto
Raymundo Soares
RS