Wirksamkeit von Akupunktur bei chronischer, therapieresistenter Plantarfasziitis: eine randomisierte Studie
Abstract
Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a leading cause of heel pain, yet effective treatments for chronic, recalcitrant cases are scarce.
The aim of this randomized, no-treatment-controlled trial was to assess whether acupuncture (a combination of high- and low-intensity acupuncture) would reduce pain in patients with chronic recalcitrant PF compared to a waitlist control.
Participants were randomly assigned (2:1:1) to high-intensity acupuncture (n = 60), low-intensity acupuncture (n = 30), or waitlist control (n = 30).
The primary outcome was the proportion of responders (≥50 % reduction in worst pain intensity) at week 4 for the combined acupuncture groups versus the waitlist control group. Key secondary outcomes included responder rates for high- and low-intensity acupuncture versus waitlist control at weeks 4, 8, and 16. Of 120 randomized participants, 109 (90.8 %) completed the trial.
At week 4, the proportion of responders was significantly higher in the combined groups than in the waitlist control group (56.7 % [95 %CI, 46.4 %-66.9 %] vs 33.3 % [95 %CI, 16.5 %-50.2 %]; difference: 23.3 % [95 %CI, 3.6 %-43.1 %]; P = 0.02), with a similar trend observed through week 16.
A graded response to acupuncture intensity was evident: at week 16, the responder rate in the high-intensity acupuncture group was 76.7 %, compared to 36.7 % in the waitlist control group (difference: 40.0 % [95 % CI, 19.7 %-60.3 %]; P < 0.001), while the low-intensity acupuncture group had a nonsignificant 20.0 % difference (95 % CI, -4.7-44.7 %; P = 0.11).
Among patients with chronic recalcitrant PF, acupuncture, particularly high-intensity acupuncture, notably reduced pain compared with waitlist control, with lasting effects up to week 16.
Autoren
Weiming Wang, Jing Kang, Xi Wang, Lili Zhu, Kehua Zhou, Zhiwei Zang, Ruimin Jiao, Weina Zhang, Jiaxiang Shi, Yan Liu, Zhishun Liu
Journal
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2026.103329
Verwendete Punkte (Auswahl):
- Blase 57, 60
- Niere 3
Quelle: Wang, W., Kang, J., Wang, X., Zhu, L., Zhou, K., Zang, Z., Jiao, R., Zhang, W., Shi, J., Liu, Y., & Liu, Z. (2026). Efficacy of acupuncture for chronic recalcitrant plantar fasciitis: A randomized trial. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 97, 103329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2026.103329