Back pain? NHS to offer acupuncture
Updated on 27 May 2009
The National Institute for Health and Clinical excellence has expanded its list of approved treatments to include alternative therapies to treat back pains.
Anyone who has suffered from lower back pain will know that there is sometimes not a lot your doctor can give you for it.
But now the National Institute for Health and Clinical excellence has expanded its list of approved treatments to include spinal manipulation - as performed by chiropractors - and acupuncture.
It is the first time acupuncture has been approved by NICE and it is being seen as something of a breakthrough for acceptance here of the ancient Chinese technique.
Sash Newman, chief executive of the charity BackCare, said: "We welcome these new guidelines. For the first time the patient's choice is central to their treatment."
Professor Peter Littlejohns, Nice's clinical and public health director, backed the inclusion of acupuncture in the guidance.
He said: "I think as with many interventions, the underlying process of how acupuncture works is still not completely clear but I think the evidence still shows that on balance patients do better."
