Abstract
BACKGROUND: We aimed to examine how electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture affect treatment results, pain levels, and joint function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. METHODS: Research was carried out in various databases including PubMed, Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, and CNKI. Following the "Cochrane manual", the risk of bias of included RCTs was assessed. A funnel plot was utilized to evaluate any potential bias in the publications. The impact size was indicated by the average discrepancy along with its 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: The EA group showed a higher effectiveness rate (P = 0.001) and a lower WOMAC pain score (P < 0.00001) compared to the control group. The EA group had a lower WOMAC pain score compared to the SA/exercise group and the group that received manual acupuncture. The WOMAC pain score was significantly lower in the EA group compared to the manual acupuncture group under intense electroacupuncture stimulation (P < 0.0001). The WOMAC pain score was significantly lower in the EA group compared to the manual acupuncture group when weak current acupuncture was applied (P = 0.0001). However, no significant difference in WOMAC function score between EA and control group. CONCLUSION: Comparison to manual acupuncture, placebo acupuncture, and exercise training, electroacupuncture enhanced the effectiveness of treating KOA and decreased the WOMAC pain score in patients with KOA. The level of pain relief achieved may be linked to the strength of the current stimulation. However, electroacupuncture had no significant effect on WOMAC function score.