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Quantitative assessment of acupuncture's effectiveness in osteoarthritis: a model-based meta-analysis
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Aobo Feng1, Jihan Huang1, 2, Yinghua Lv1, Ling Xu1, Yuan Liu1, Qingshan Zheng1, *, Luyi Wu3, *, Lujin Li1, 2, *
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine | 2026, 6(2) : 247 - 257
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Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine | 2026, 6(2): 247-257
• Original Article •
Quantitative assessment of acupuncture's effectiveness in osteoarthritis: a model-based meta-analysis
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Aobo Feng1, Jihan Huang1, 2, Yinghua Lv1, Ling Xu1, Yuan Liu1, Qingshan Zheng1, *, Luyi Wu3, *, Lujin Li1, 2, *
Affiliations
  • 1Center for Drug of Clinical Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
  • 2State Key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine (Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine), Shanghai, China
  • 3Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
About Author:

Aobo Feng and Jihan Huang are contributed equally to this work.

Published: 2026-06-25 doi: 10.1097/HM9.0000000000000199
Outline
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Objective:

This study aimed to quantitatively analyze the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for osteoarthritis and its influencing factors. It compared the effects of different types of acupuncture with sham acupuncture, as well as sham acupuncture with oral placebos, to elucidate the efficacy characteristics of acupuncture and provide quantitative data to support its use in the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Methods:

Randomized controlled trials on acupuncture for osteoarthritis were retrieved from the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, and CNKI databases, including studies published up to October 31, 2025. Using time-course and covariate models, we quantitatively assessed the clinical efficacy and influencing factors of warm acupuncture, traditional acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and sham acupuncture. Subgroup analyses were conducted to explore trends related to potential factors affecting acupuncture efficacy. Furthermore, the effects of sham acupuncture were compared with previously established oral placebo responses to evaluate whether sham acupuncture confers therapeutic benefits.

Results:

A total of 72 articles involving 4,919 participants were included. The findings indicated that warm acupuncture significantly outperformed sham acupuncture in Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain, WOMAC stiffness, and WOMAC function scores. Electroacupuncture and traditional acupuncture exhibited similar efficacy, with both treatments showing numerical improvements over sham acupuncture; however, these improvements were not statistically significant. Comparisons with oral placebo responses suggested that sham acupuncture was effective, with nonacupoint sham acupuncture slightly outperforming nonpenetrating sham acupuncture. Subgroup analyses indicated that higher baseline values of outcome measures, a lower proportion of female participants, shorter disease duration, and higher acupuncture frequency were associated with greater efficacy of acupuncture for osteoarthritis.

Conclusion:

This study establishes a time-course model for acupuncture in the treatment of osteoarthritis, clarifying its efficacy characteristics and clinical advantages while providing essential quantitative data for clinical practice and future trials.

Acupuncture  /  Model-based meta-analysis  /  Osteoarthritis  /  Placebo  /  WOMAC
Aobo Feng, Jihan Huang, Yinghua Lv, Ling Xu, Yuan Liu, Qingshan Zheng, Luyi Wu, Lujin Li. Quantitative assessment of acupuncture's effectiveness in osteoarthritis: a model-based meta-analysis[J]. Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine, 2026 , 6 (2) : 247 -257 . DOI: 10.1097/HM9.0000000000000199
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Funding
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  • Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Smart Healthcare Special Project(2025ZHYL037)
  • National Key R&D Program of China(SQ2024YFC3500039)
  • Open Research Program of the State Key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine(LSLSKL20240203)
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Appendix
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Year 2026 volume 6 Issue 2
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Article Info
doi: 10.1097/HM9.0000000000000199
  • Receive Date：2025-07-31
  • Online Date：2026-11-04
  • Published：2026-06-25
Article Data
Affiliations
History
  • Received：2025-07-31
  • Accepted：2026-04-03
Funding
Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Smart Healthcare Special Project(2025ZHYL037)
National Key R&D Program of China(SQ2024YFC3500039)
Open Research Program of the State Key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine(LSLSKL20240203)
Affiliations
    1Center for Drug of Clinical Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
    2State Key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine (Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine), Shanghai, China
    3Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China

Corresponding:

* Lujin Li, E-mail: ;
Luyi Wu, E-mail: ;
Qingshan Zheng, E-mail: .
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表12种不同金属材料的力学参数
科
Family		 属数
Number of
genus		 种数
Number of
species		 占总种数比例
Percentage of
total species (%)		 属
Genus		 种数
Number of
species		 占总种数比例
Percentage of total
species (%)
鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae 2 11 5.26 鹅膏菌属 Amanita 10 4.78
小菇科 Mycenaceae 2 12 5.74 丝盖伞属 Inocybe 5 2.39
多孔菌科 Polyporaceae 8 14 6.70 蜡蘑属 Laccaria 5 2.39
红菇科 Russulaceae 3 23 11.00 小皮伞属 Marasmius 6 2.87
小菇属 Mycena 11 5.26
光柄菇属 Pluteus 5 2.39
红菇属 Russula 17 8.13
栓菌属 Trametes 5 2.39
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