Acupuncture For Lower Back Pain

Could Acupuncture Be One Of The Best Treatments For Low Back Pain? Allied Acupuncture Gold Coast, Burleigh Waters Clinic

It may come as no surprise that lower back pain (LBP) is the single largest contributor to disability worldwide (1).

Most people will experience LBP at some point in their lives. It is a priority disease according the World Health Organisation. It can also be a major issue alongside sciatica. For more information on acupuncture treatment for sciatica click HERE.

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Can acupuncture relieve lower back pain?

Acupuncture has been used for at least 2,000 years for the treatment of many pain conditions including LBP and sciatica.

Watch this video for a short summary of the benefits of acupuncture:

 

Let’s take a look at the global research and clinical guidelines.

What Does the Research Say About Acupuncture Relieving Lower Back Pain?

In 2007 and 2009 two research studies found that acupuncture was twice as effective as conventional care in improving chronic LBP and much safer especially when considering the negative impact of opioid based pain medications (6, 7).

Acupuncture’s effectiveness for the treatment of chronic LBP was rated as ‘high’ in a 2014 narrative review of non-invasive and alternative treatments (8).

The highest levels of research evidence (systematic reviews) have shown for chronic non-specific LBP that receiving acupuncture treatment in addition to regular care is superior to usual care alone and that acupuncture was every bit as effective as usual care for pain and function improvement (9).

Another systematic review for reducing acute LBP found acupuncture superior to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) for improving low back pain symptoms (10).

An overview of 16 systematic reviews found that acupuncture ‘should be advocated in routine clinical practice’ due to short-term improvements in pain and function for chronic LBP (medium to large clinical effects) (11). For acute LBP, the reviewers found only 2 systematic reviews, which they said was too few to draw a conclusion. 

Acupuncture has also been found likely to be cost-effective for the treatment of chronic non-specific LBP and LBP respectively (11,12).

Clinical Guidelines that Recommend Acupuncture for Lower Back Pain:

The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) recommended acupuncture for chronic low back pain in its Management of Chronic Pain guide (2013), (Grade A recommendation) (4).
In ‘Acute Pain Management: Scientific Evidence’ published by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and Faculty of Pain Medicine in 2015, NHMRC Level 1 evidence was identified for acupuncture treatment of back pain (5).

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Are You Considering Acupuncture Treatment For Low Back Pain or Sciatica?

The research supports acupuncture as a valuable tool to help relieve LBP and sciatica. If you experience these conditions and wish to find out more about a course of acupuncture treatment, book an appointment with Allied Acupuncture Gold Coast today using the details below.

Dr Baker employs advanced neurological treatment strategies and close to a decade of clinical experience to produce fast results for pain management.

Always trust a qualified and registered acupuncturist with your acupuncture treatment: Allied Acupuncture Gold Coast, 7a / 2 Executive Dr, Burleigh Waters – 07 5522 1691

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References:
1. World Health Organization. Chapter 6: Priority diseases and reasons for inclusion Priority Medicines for Europe and the World Update Report. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2013.
2. Lewis R WN, Matar HE, et al. The Clinical Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Management Strategies for Sciatica: Systematic Review and Economic Model. Health Technology Assessment, No 1539. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2011.
3. Lewis RA, Williams NH, Sutton AJ, Burton K, Din NU, Matar HE, et al. Comparative clinical effectiveness of management strategies for sciatica: systematic review and network meta-analyses. The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society. 2015 Jun 1;15(6):1461-77.
4. Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Management of Chronic Pain (SIGN publication no. 136). Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN); 2013.
5. Schug SA, Palmer GM, Scott DA, Halliwell R, Trinca J. Acute pain management: scientific evidence, fourth edition, 2015. The Medical journal of Australia. 2016 May 2;204(8):315-7.
6. Haake M et al. German Acupuncture Trials (GERAC) for chronic low back pain: randomised, multicenter, blinded, parallel-group trial with 3 groups. Arch Intern Med. 2007 Sep 24;167(17):1892-8.
7. Cherkin D et al. A randomised trial comparing acupuncture, simulated acupuncture, and usual care for chronic low back pain, Arch Intern Med. 2009 May 11;169(9):858-66
8. Wellington J. Noninvasive and alternative management of chronic low back pain (efficacy and outcomes). Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society. 2014 Oct;17 Suppl 2:24-30.
9. Lam M, Galvin R, Curry P. Effectiveness of acupuncture for nonspecific chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Spine. 2013 Nov 15;38(24):2124-38.
10. Taylor P, Pezzullo L, Grant SJ, Bensoussan A. Cost-effectiveness of Acupuncture for Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain. Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain. 2014 Sep;14(7):599-606.
11. Liu L, Skinner M, McDonough S, Mabire L, Baxter GD. Acupuncture for low back pain: an overview of systematic reviews. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM. 2015;2015:328196.
12. Andronis L, Kinghorn P, Qiao S, Whitehurst DG, Durrell S, McLeod H. Cost-Effectiveness of Non-Invasive and Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Low Back Pain: a Systematic Literature Review. Applied health economics and health policy. 2016 Aug 22.
13. Lee JH, Choi TY, Lee MS, Lee H, Shin BC, Lee H. Acupuncture for acute low back pain: a systematic review. The Clinical journal of pain. 2013 Feb;29(2):172-85.
14. Chou R, Deyo R, Friedly J, Skelly A, Hashimoto R, Weimer M, et al. AHRQ Comparative Effectiveness Reviews. Noninvasive Treatments for Low Back Pain. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (US); 2016.

Lower Back Pain (LBP)

[Evidence: Chronic – Positive Effect; Acute – Potential Positive Effect]

Back pain relief from acupuncture was rated as ‘effective’ in the Australian DVA review (2010) and ‘unclear’ in the USVA Evidence map of acupuncture (2014) (5, 6). The main reason given for the ‘unclear’ rating in the USVA Evidence map was that ‘sham acupuncture controlled trials tended towards statistically nonsignificant results’ and a Cochrane systematic review in 2005 which drew no firm conclusions on acupuncture for acute stage (6). The problems associated with the interpretation of the effects of sham acupuncture have already been discussed. When reviews separate the evidence on chronic stage from acute stage, as was done in the recent review by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, it was found that there is moderate quality evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture for both pain intensity and function, but only low quality evidence for pain intensity and function in the acute stage (45).

In a systematic review of 32 randomised controlled trials for acupuncture treatment of chronic non-specific LBP, acupuncture was superior (both statistically and clinically significant) to sham acupuncture in pain reduction and improved function immediately after treatment (46). Acupuncture was equivalent but not superior to usual care in pain and function, but acupuncture plus usual care was superior to usual care alone (46). The reviewers rated the evidence level of their review as Level of Evidence I (46). A systematic review of 11 randomised controlled trials on acute stage pain, acupuncture was superior to NSAIDS for improving symptoms (small effect), and superior to sham for pain but not function (47). A narrative review of non-invasive and alternative treatments rated the evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture as high and for acupressure as moderate (48).

A review of 16 systematic reviews found that acupuncture alone, or when added to usual care, provided short-term improvement in pain and function for chronic LBP (medium to large clinical effects) and hence ‘should be advocated in routine clinical practice’ (49). For acute pain, the reviewers could not make firm conclusions about the effectiveness of acupuncture due the inclusion of only two systematic reviews (49). Two studies found that acupuncture is likely to be cost-effective for low back pain or chronic non-specific LBP, respectively (50, 51).

 

Post-Operative Pain

[Evidence: Positive Effect]

For post-operative pain, acupuncture was not reviewed in the Australian DVA review (2010) and rated as ‘unclear’ in the USVA Evidence map of acupuncture (2014) (5, 6). A systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 RCTs in 2016, found that acupuncture, electroacupuncture (EA) and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) improved pain on day one after surgery and reduced opioid use (17). Subgroup analysis showed that acupuncture and TEAS were superior to EA (17). A systematic review specifically on acute pain after back surgery reviewed five RCTs (three of which were high quality) and found encouraging but limited evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture (57).

 

Sciatica

[Evidence: Potential Positive Effect – Moderate Evidence]

In a 2015 network meta-analysis acupuncture was rated 2nd out of 21 interventions for global effect and pain intensity reduction (196). A 2015 systematic review and meta-analysis found that acupuncture may be superior to medications and may enhance the effect of medications for patients with sciatica (197). Also, a 2015 systematic review found acupuncture superior to conventional Western medicine in outcomes effectiveness, pain intensity and pain threshold (198).

Reviewers reporting all individual RCTs or pooled effects across RCTs as positive, but the reviewers deeming the evidence insufficient to draw firm conclusions. The quality of the evidence is rated as moderate or high quality.

 

Allied Acupuncture Gold Coast

7a/2 Executive Drive, Burleigh Waters QLD 4220
0755221691

Located near Treetops Shopping Plaza, 5 minutes from the M1, just off Bermuda Street.

It is your local clinic for Varsity Lakes, Reedy Creek, Bonogin and Burleigh Waters.

Commute to work? Get a treatment on the way home while the traffic dies down.