Short answer. Probably not. In a large Australian trial, real acupuncture eased knee pain no more than a pretend treatment.
Evidence grade. Probably does not help.
What it is
Acupuncture uses very fine needles placed at points on the body. Laser acupuncture uses a low power light on the same points. Many people with long term knee pain try it, because it is widely offered and has few side effects.
What the research shows
The trial was run in Victoria. It enrolled 282 people over 50 with long term knee pain and divided them into four groups. One had needle acupuncture, one had laser acupuncture, one had a sham laser that looked real but gave no treatment, and one had no acupuncture. Treatment lasted 12 weeks. The people given the laser or sham laser did not know which they had.1
Compared with no treatment, both needle and laser acupuncture gave a modest improvement in pain at 12 weeks, but it was too small to matter and was gone by one year. Compared with the sham treatment, neither real treatment did better for pain or for function at 12 weeks or at one year. The authors concluded that the benefit people felt came from incidental effects such as the attention of the practitioner and the expectation of getting better.1 Guidelines differ, and some have advised against acupuncture for knee arthritis.
Risks and effort
Acupuncture is generally safe in trained hands. There were no serious side effects in the trial. Minor bruising or soreness at the needle site is common.
What usually works instead
Exercise and strength work for the leg muscles, weight loss where that applies, and simple pain relief have the best evidence. A physiotherapist can also advise on braces and walking aids. See Osteoarthritis of the Knee and Does exercise work for knee arthritis?.
Questions people ask
It helped my knee. Was I imagining it?
No. Pain is real, and feeling better after a treatment you trust is a real effect. The trial found that fake acupuncture gave the same relief as the real thing, so the relief did not depend on where the needles went.
Is it worth trying anyway?
It is a personal choice. It is safe when done by a trained practitioner, but the time may be better spent on exercise that has been shown to help.
What about dry needling by a physio?
Dry needling is a different technique, and this trial did not test it. The evidence for it in knee arthritis is limited.
Do some people respond better?
The trial looked at people with moderate to severe pain over 50, and found no group that did better than sham. People with milder pain or other types of knee pain may differ.
References
- Hinman RS, McCrory P, Pirotta M, Relf I, Forbes A, Crossley KM, Williamson E, Kyriakides M, Novy K, Metcalf BR, Harris A, Reddy P, Conaghan PG, Bennell KL. Acupuncture for chronic knee pain: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2014;312(13):1313-1322. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2014.12660
Last reviewed 22 October 2026. Next review due October 2028.