Symptomatic hand osteoarthritis (HOA) is estimated to affect 15.9% of women and 8.2% of men in the general population. Since no therapy can completely cure HOA at present, alternative effective therapies are needed. Acupuncture has been an effective treatment to alleviate pain and improve joint motion for patients with knee osteoarthritis according to a considerable amount of research. It is not surprised that acupuncture is effective in treating HOA in clinical practice considering the similar pathogenesis HOA shared with knee osteoarthritis. However, the research on the effects of acupuncture in patients with HOA is very limited. The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for HOA.
The investigators plan to conduct this multicentered, sham-controlled randomized clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for clinical symptomatic improvement of hand OA.