Acupuncture 'better for back pain'
Updated on 25 September 2007
Acupuncture and even sham acupuncture are more effective treatments of lower back pain than conventional therapy, a new study has suggested.
German scientists from the University of Regensburg conducted a randomised clinical trial on 1,162 patients with an average age of 50 who had experienced chronic low back pain for an average of eight years.
A third of the patients were given 10 half-hour sessions of traditional Chinese verum acupuncture, which involves needling fixed points and additional points between 5mm (0.2ins) and 40mm (1.5ins) deep.
Another third were given sham acupuncture, where they had needles inserted superficially into the lower back, avoiding all known verum points, or meridians.
The final third were given conventional treatment, involving medication, physical therapy and exercise.
The success of the different treatments was measured as a one-third improvement in pain, or a 12% improvement in mobility.
After six months, almost half of the verum acupuncture group (47.6%) and only slightly fewer (44.2%) of the sham acupuncture group had met this criteria.
This compared to only 27.4% of the conventional therapy group.
The authors said: "The superiority of both forms of acupuncture suggests a common underlying mechanism that may act on pain generation, transmission of pain signals or processing of pain signals by the central nervous system and that is stronger than the action mechanism of conventional therapy.
"Acupuncture gives physicians a promising and effective treatment option for those experiencing chronic lower back pain, with few adverse effects or contradictions. The improvements in all primary and secondary outcome measures were significant and lasted long after completion of treatment."
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