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Exercise therapy (strengthening, stretching, functional exercises) has been shown to improve the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, but the role of acupuncture remains controversial. British investigators performed this randomized trial to lessen the controversy.
Participants were 352 adults (age ≥50) with a clinical diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis. They were assigned to receive advice and exercise, advice and exercise plus true acupuncture, or advice and exercise plus nonpenetrating acupuncture; follow-up was 12 months. The exercise intervention consisted of up to six 30-minute sessions, as did the acupuncture interventions.
At 6 months, the primary outcome — change in pain level — did not differ among the three groups. All three groups impro…