Acupuncture may help pregnant women suffering from pelvic girdle pain, according to new findings.
However, the beneficial effect is small and further evidence is needed, according to a report in the BJOG.
PGP causes a stabbing or dull pain in the buttocks and pelvis, which may radiate down the leg. It is experienced by about one in five pregnant women and can last beyond pregnancy, leading to long-term sick leave and incapacity.
Treatment includes light exercises and the use of a pelvic belt to support the body, but this is usually inadequate.
Dr Helen Elden and her team at the Sahlgrenska Academy in Goteborg, Sweden, investigated the use of acupuncture. They gave 58 women with PGP a course of 12 acupuncture treatments plus standard medical care. A further 57 patients received non-penetrating sham acupuncture plus standard medical care.
The participants kept diaries and completed questionnaires during and after their treatment.
Pain was slightly reduced in both groups, with no significant difference between the two. But women who had true acupuncture were "more able to take part in routine activities which they could not before treatment began". They were also more able to continue work.
Full results are published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Dr Elden said: "This study shows that acupuncture had no superior effect compared with non-penetrating sham acupuncture on pain relief but improved women’s functional ability to perform daily activities.
"We therefore believe that the data suggests that needle penetration, at least to some degree, is one important component in acupuncture therapy and provides additional support for the use of acupuncture as one of several means of treatment of PGP in pregnant women."
Elden, H. et al. Acupuncture as an adjunct to standard treatment for pelvic girdle pain in pregnant women: randomised double-blinded controlled trial comparing acupuncture with non-penetrating sham acupuncture. BJOG 2008.
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