A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, copyrighted by the American Medical Association, conducted a randomized controlled trial of the effects of acupuncture on chronic back pain. The study specifically examined the effectiveness of acupuncture compared with minimal or absent acupuncture in patients with chronic lower back pain.
Acupuncture specialists used at least 140 hours of training and at least 350 hours of experience. Patients were clinically diagnosed as having chronic back pain for 6 years or more, 40–75 years, and an average pain intensity of 40 days 7 days before the start of the study. Those who had problems with the disc were excluded, as were any patients with a spinal problem, and those who had acupuncture treatment for a year before the study. The study was conducted over 8 weeks, with 12 final results included in the treatment of 298 patients.
In conclusion, they found that acupuncture improved pain in patients with chronic LBP, although it found no difference between acupuncture and minimal acupuncture. In general, the acupuncture group is slightly better than the minimal acupuncture group. It was noted that after 8, 26 and 52 weeks they were about the same.
As another study 600 also in the archives of internal medicine showed that patients with acupuncture had a greater decrease in LBP than patients with traditional medicine. It was funded by the National Institutes of Health, and 2 groups received acupuncture, and the third received a placebo version of acupuncture, and the fourth group was strictly conditional.
This study, over a period of seven weeks, the first 3 groups observed a markedly higher decrease in LBP than the group that received the traditional treatment. Even the placebo group realized an additional benefit. While 60% of the acupuncture treatment group experienced noticeable positive results from their treatment, only 39% of the traditional treatment group experienced reasonable benefits.
The results raised a number of questions related to the psychological effects of acupuncture on patients.
For a person with chronic back pain, this can be very helpful. Acupuncture is often much more affordable than normal procedures. In a country where Americans spend $ 37 billion annually on back pain, this provides a potentially successful alternative.
Acupuncture and other Oriental medicines are becoming increasingly recognized as acceptable treatments in the United States. Most states now regulate it and have created some standards for providing professional treatment, and also require licensing to keep track of it more (as for ordinary medicine).
Further, a number of insurance companies now provide at least a limited benefit for this alternative medicine, as they understand that they can cut their expenses by helping their policyholders.
