Acupuncture for Lateral Epicondylitis: A Systematic Review

Table 1

The characteristics of included studies in this systematic review.

Author, year	Method	Participants total ()	Mean (SD)/range age		Intervention		Acupuncture points	Frequency and duration of acupuncture intervention	Outcomes
			Treatment	Control	Treatment	Control
Fink et al., 2002 [20]	RCT	45 (23/22)			Real acupuncture	Sham acupuncture	Ashi, LI10, LI11, LU5, LI4, and SJ5	25 min/treatment; 10 treatments, with 2 treatments per week	() Maximal muscle strength; () VAS; () DASH
Irnich et al., 2003 [21]	RCT	50 (25/25)	31–70	38–65	Real acupuncture	Sham acupuncture	LI4, LI10, SI3, SJ5, and GB34	25 min/treatment; 3 treatments within 10 days	() PPT; () GS; () IP
Jiang et al., 2005 [22]	RCT	128 (64/64)			Electroacupuncture plus moxibustion with material insulation	Blockage therapy	LI4, LR3	20 min/treatment; 10 treatments within 5 treatments per week	Elbow function status
Li et al., 2014 [23]	RCT	86 (43/43)	18–22	18–22	Electroacupuncture plus massage and blockage therapy	Blockage therapy	Ashi, LI11, LI12, LI10, SJ5, and LI4	30 min/treatment; once per day for 10 days	() VAS; () GSI; () MEPS

VAS: Visual Analog Scale; DASH: disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand; PPT: pressure pain threshold; GS: grip strength; IP: impairment caused by pain; GSI: grip strength index; MEPS: Mayo Elbow Performance Score.