Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial of the Pain-Relieving Effect of Gold Bead Implantation on Cervical Osteoarthritis

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Background: Since the 1970s, veterinarians have treated animals with gold implantation at acupuncture points for different chronic joint pain conditions. Objective: The aim was to evaluate the effect of gold bead implantation on patients with cervical osteoarthritis (CO) in a randomized, double-blinded placebo-control study. Design, Setting, and Patients: Forty-six patients with X-ray verified CO with chronic pain (visual analogue scale [VAS] ≥6) were enrolled in the study. Intervention: The patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups: Group A (n = 24) was treated with gold implantations, and Group B (n = 22) received placebo treatment. Main Outcome Measure: A neurologist (blinded for the treatment modality) determined the VAS-scores and amount of analgesic treatment before and 1 year after the intervention. Results: In Group A, 16/24 and, in Group B, 2/22 patients stated a marked reduction of their symptoms (consumption of painkillers was reduced by 30% or more) 1 year after the treatment. The VAS score was significantly reduced from 7 (6–9) to 2 (0–9) in Group A (p < 0.001) and unchanged (VAS = 7) in group B, 1 year after the intervention. Conclusions: The present study revealed that the pain-relieving effects of extra-articular gold bead implantation is a promising treatment modality with long-term palliative effects for patients with CO.

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