Auricular acupuncture for pain relief after ambulatory knee surgery: a randomized trial

120 patients requiring ambulatory knee surgery were randomly assigned to receive auricular acupuncture or an invasive needle control procedure. Patients were instructed to take ibuprofen postoperatively only if required (aiming to achieve a pain intensity of <40mm on a 100mm visual analogue scale). Results demonstrated that patients who received auricular acupuncture required less ibuprofen during the time period between the surgery to the follow-up assessment in the next morning.