Western Medical Acupuncture Perception and Use for Pain Management Among Athletes: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose

This systematic review aims to assess the use and perception of “Western” medical acupuncture—based on conventional biomedical mechanisms and evidence-based medicine for diagnosis and needle placement—for pain management among athletes and their healthcare providers.

Methods

A systematic review is reported based on the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, Allied and Complementary Medicine databases, and Google Scholar were searched (search: from database inception to July 2023). Two authors independently conducted multi-stage screening, data extraction, and quality assessment. The outcomes of interest were prevalence of acupuncture prescriptions by healthcare professionals, prevalence of acupuncture use by athletes, and perceptions related to acupuncture effectiveness among healthcare professionals and athletes. Only studies wherein “Western” medical acupuncture was used for pain management were included.

Results

Our review included 11 observational studies and clinical trials. The prevalence of “Western” medical acupuncture prescription varied from 15.4% (UK) to 58.4% (US) among sports medicine healthcare professionals. Prevalence of acupuncture use among athletes ranged from 2.2% among college athletes in Palestine to 61% among professional football players in the Netherlands. Acupuncture was used for managing delayed-onset of soreness and pain due to various types of musculoskeletal injuries. Both athletes and their healthcare providers reported positive perceptions of acupuncture.

Conclusion

Our systematic review identifies a notable research gap in evaluating the practice and perception of “Western” medical acupuncture among healthcare professionals and athletes. Our findings suggest that “Western” medical acupuncture is not only prescribed by sport medicine professionals and used by athletes for diverse musculoskeletal pains but is also generally perceived positively for its effectiveness. Given the positive clinical experience of health professionals, athletes’ favorable perception, and acupuncture’s well-established safety profile, acupuncture should be given serious consideration—as a complementary approach—in the overall management of pain.

Registration

Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/qb9gc).

Keywords:

• western medical acupuncture
• perception
• pain
• athletes

Data Sharing Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article and in an online supplement. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr Ross MacDonald, Librarian, Scholarly Communications, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, for his help in developing the search strategy. We would also like to thank the English editing service provided by the Library of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar for editing our manuscript.

Author Contributions

K.C. and R.M. made a significant contribution to the conception and study design. All the authors made a significant contribution to the execution and acquisition of data. K.C. and R.M. made a significant contribution to the analysis and interpretation. K.C. has written the first draft of the manuscript. All the authors have critically reviewed the article, agreed on the journal to which the article will be submitted, on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version accepted for publication, and any significant changes introduced at the proofing stage. All the authors also agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article.

Disclosure

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. None of the authors report any conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

There is no funding to report.