11/09/2026
A 2021 study asked a question most acupuncture trials skip: does the style of needling matter? 🔬
Researchers compared electroacupuncture, manual acupuncture, and sham in 480 adults with knee osteoarthritis. At week 8, only electroacupuncture beat sham by a statistically significant margin. By weeks 16 and 26, both real groups had pulled ahead.
It's one study from 2021, and its limitations are on slide 6. 📌 Save this for your next knee-pain conversation.
Read the full study for yourself (Tu et al., Arthritis & Rheumatology, 2021): https://doi.org/10.1002/art.41584