Acupuncture best therapy for back pain

I have discussed in the previous posts that acupuncture is more effective than conventional treatment for pregnancy back pain, that acupuncture relieves lower back pain long-term and that you don’t even necessarily need the needles, acupressure for back pain alone is more effective than conventional therapies.

Now scientists from Germany have clearly spelled out that acupuncture is almost twice as effective as conventional treatment. And that the effect of treatment lasts for at least 6 months. This news has generated a lot of publicity from media worldwide, but not much in New Zealand.
Interestingly, none of the previous research got so much attention as this.

Reference: Archives of Internal Medicine

Acupressure for back pain

Acupuncture relieves low back pain long-term

“Our new data provides a significant step forward in treating chronic pain and managing depression” Professor MacPherson

Hugh MacPherson and scientists at the University of York in England said the benefits of a short course of acupuncture were evident in their study of 241 back pain sufferers.

‘If you offer acupuncture to someone with back pain on average it is expected you are likely to benefit, not just in the short term but particularly in the longer-term of 12 and especially 24 months,’ he said in an interview.

‘That’s a remarkable finding in that normally you would expect the benefit of the treatment to wear off,’ MacPherson added.

The researchers compared the impact of adding 10 acupuncture sessions over three months to the normal treatment for back pain, which includes medication, physiotherapy and exercises.

Patient satisfaction and pain levels were measured and recorded during the two-year study. After three months there was not too much difference between the acupuncture group and patients who had the standard therapy.

Weak evidence of improvement in the acupuncture group was found at 12 months, according to the study published in the British Medical Journal.

By 24 months the difference between the two groups increased.

‘This is the first study to show this growing gap up to the two-year point. It is quite unique in that sense,’ MacPherson added.

In a separate study in which they looked at the cost of acupuncture, the researchers found that the additional money spent on the acupuncture treatment appeared cost-effective.

The cost of treating each patient in the acupuncture group was 460 pounds ($863) during the study, compared to 345 pounds ($647) for patients who received just the standard care.

Fibromyalgia :: Acupuncture effectively relieves pain, anxiety and tiredness

Fibromyalgia is a disabling disorder. It is characterized by chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain and symptoms. It’s often keeps company with fatigue, joint stiffness, memory and concentration problems, anxiety, depression and disturbed sleep.

The exact cause of fibromyalgia remains unknown, but it is believed to involve a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors that affect the way the nervous system processes pain signals.  No cure is known and available, most of the treatments are only partially effective.

Researchers are often turning their heads to time-tested acupuncture when there is no pharmacological option available. A dedicated team of researchers from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine embarked on an adventure to test the hypothesis that acupuncture could improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia. They designed a study where patients would either receive true acupuncture or simulated acupuncture, serving as the control group. And prior to the study, all the participants had tried numerous other treatments without success.

The team of researchers were pleasantly surprised that acupuncture significantly improved fibromyalgia symptoms compared to the control group. And not only pain. Among other symptoms, fatigue and anxiety were also greatly reduced.

Acupuncture may be a complication-free form of pain relief for patients with fibromyalgia, say Mayo Clinic researchers.

This study affirms a lot of clinical impressions that this complementary medical technique is helpful for patients.

Learn more about pain relief with acupuncture.