Effect of Distal Needling on Knee Pain Using Acupuncture Techniques

Comparison of Different Acupuncture Methods on Knee Pain

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01612663

Enrollment

Registered

2012-06-06

Start date

2012-06-30

Completion date

2015-06-01

Last updated

2022-03-22

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Patellar Tendonitis, Complete Tear, Knee, Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Keywords

Knee pain, Acupuncture, Sham acupuncture

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to test if specific therapeutic benefits of acupuncture are mostly attributable to contextual and psychosocial factors, such as patients' beliefs and expectations.The investigators propose using the 2 acupuncture methods, which refrains from inserting needles in the affected area, in order to evaluate the short-term and long-term efficacy of acupuncture in a clinical setting compared with placebo and compared with invasive needling that does not adhere to correct acupuncture rules.

Detailed description

The main novel features of this study: 1. First aim to assess the effect of distal needling on knee pain 2. Second aim to directly compare two acupuncture techniques, placebo, needling at wrong places and correct needling for knee pain Advantages of the study compared to published data: 1. Distal needling - enables assessment of range of motion (ROM) and pain level during needling. 2. Both acupuncture systems rely on minimal questioning, which simplifies the patient-practitioner interactions. 3. Exploratory studies in the clinic of DP show that it is possible to distinguish between correct and incorrect needling, at least in the short term. Long term effects have not been assessed yet.

Interventions

DEVICEPain relief by Acupuncture needle at non-specific site

DEVICEAcupuncture needle

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 85 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Adult patients (\> 18 years old), suffering chronic stable pain score \>40 mm on 100 mm VAS of the knee due to patellar tendonitis. * Patients have had X-rays or other tests confirming they are not candidates for surgery nor are scheduled for steroid injections or hyaluronic acid injections within 8 weeks from the beginning of the study. * Adult patients (\> 18 years old), two weeks after ACL reconstruction surgery (with or without meniscal involvement), with pain score \>40 mm on 100 mm VAS of the knee (all patients at this stage have significant ROM limitation).

Exclusion criteria

* Patient refusal * Soldiers * Pregnancy * Morbid obesity * Diabetes * Peripheral vascular disease * Lower limb neurological deficit (such as multiple sclerosis, nerve palsy), other serious co-morbidity (including severe back pain or hip pain) * A history of prolonged or current steroid use * Received hyaluronic acid injections within the previous 3 months * Have needle phobia or allergy to sticking plaster.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Effect of Distal Needling on Knee Pain Using Acupuncture Techniques	2 years	Effect of Distal Needling on Knee Pain Using 4 different Acupuncture Techniques by: 1. Pain measurement by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 2. Range of motion (ROM)

Countries

Israel

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026