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Due to its perceived safety, acupuncture is sometimes used in treating patients with chronic sciatica despite limited evidence of efficacy. In this trial from China, 216 adults (mean age, 51) were randomized to undergo 10 sessions of acupuncture or sham procedures during 4 weeks. The sham procedure consisted of blunt needles inserted into adhesive foam pads placed over non-acupoints. All patients had moderate-to-severe unilateral leg pain attributed to imaging-confirmed disk herniation; mean duration of symptoms was 3 years (range, 1.3–10 years). Patients taking pain-modifying medications or with prior lumbar disk surgery were excluded.
Patients who received acupuncture reported greater leg-pain relief at 4 weeks than did patients who receiv…