Auricular therapy for chronic pain management in adults: A synthesis of evidence.
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.
School of Nursing, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, PR China.
Hong-Jia
HJ
Zhao
School of Nursing, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, PR China.
Jing-Yu
JY
Tan
The Second Affiliated People's Hospital, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, PR China.
Tao
T
Wang
School of Management, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, PR China. Electronic address: lang.jin@hotmail.com.
Lang
L
Jin
D020831:Acupuncture, Ear; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
Auricular therapy; Chronic pain; Meta-analysis; Randomized controlled trial; Systematic review