ACUPUNCTURE and electrotherapy could be suitable alternatives to opioids after surgery.
A new study from California's Stanford University found the drug free interventions could improve post-operative pain management for people recovering from knee surgery, and potentially reduce and delay opioid use.
While the evidence was modest, it remains clinically significant, particularly given the problems associated with opioid use such as addiction.
"As prescription opioid use is under national scrutiny and because surgery has been identified as an avenue for addiction, it is important to recognize effective alternatives to standard pharmacological therapy, which remains the first option for treatment," the authors wrote.
Dr Tina Hernandez-Boussard and her team also looked at other treatments such as cryotherapy, continuous passive motion and pre-operative exercise.
They found these did not help in the 39 clinical trials they reviewed.
