The Most Effective Treatment for Low Back Pains A Comparative Study
Low back pains have been recognized as one of the most endangering conditions as it can lead to impairment and long-term disabling. Low back pains have become a major health concern in the world with an estimated prevalence of 70 to 80. Statistics shows that 50 of the adults have problems related to back pains every year and 70-80 are experience low back pain in the course of their life time (Haake, 2007). Research findings shows that chronic low back pains are a common cause of visit to orthopedics, neurosurgeons, and physicians. Chronic low back pains has been ranked second among pains that physicians attend to and which can be attributed to increased absenteeism in work and disability. Back pain is a costly ailment for the working adults as they have to miss most working days. Back pains are usually associated with high medical expenses, reduced productivity, and disability. This implies that low back pains have staggering economic effects on the society if aggregate effects are summed up together. This means that any effort to come up with treatment of therapeutic measures for the problem should be encouraged since it will have a positive impact on the society. There is no single method that has been considered quite effective in alleviating chronic low back pain. Acupuncture is one of the methods which are gaining increased use and in most cases it is being used together with conventional methods. However, it is still not clear whether acupuncture is effective in dealing with chronic low back pain. To ascertain the effectiveness of acupuncture, this paper will look into different randomized trials on effectiveness of acupuncture in relieving chronic low back pain.
Effectiveness of acupuncture in alleviating chronic lower back pains
There are different studies that have looked into the effectiveness of acupuncture, when used alone or in combination with conventional therapies, in relieving chronic low back pain. Most of the studies are randomized follow up studies carried out on patients suffering from chronic lower back pains. All the studies have shown the effectiveness of acupuncture in alleviating chronic low back pains.
A study that was carried out by Cherkin et al., (2008) on 640 people aged between 18 and 70 years and who had low back pains, showed effectiveness of acupuncture in relieving back pain. The study was carried out based on the background information that revealed that chronic low back pain continues to be one of the major public health problems. There are more and more people seeking acupuncture to relieve chronic low back pain despite having no system study to look into the effectiveness of the method. These were subjected to Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) principles of acupuncture needling because they are the most common (Cherkin et al., 2008). The aim of the study was to aid in clarifying the value of acupuncture needling as the best way of treating chronic low back pains. The study wanted to clarify whether acupuncture needling has more paint relieving effect compared to the conventional medical care used to reduce chronic low back pains. The study also aimed at finding out whether individualized acupuncture needling was more effective than the standardized acupuncture needling. The study concluded that Acupuncture is more effective in improving the chronic low back pains and also that there is no difference between acupuncture and minimal acupuncture (Cherkin et al, 1989)
Another study that was carried by Benno et al., (2006) included the treatment of patients completing a standardized questionnaire at the baseline and after weeks 8, 26, and 52 after randomization. The variable in this experiment was the change in low back pain intensity from baseline to the end of week 8. In this study, a total of 298 patients participated and it was shown that pain intensity decreased between the baseline and week 8. Participants in the study were randomized and treated with acupuncture and minimal acupuncture which included superficial needing at points considered non acupuncture points. This study concluded that acupuncture was more effective in reducing the chronic low back pains than in those patients who did not undergo acupuncture. In another study, patients with chronic low back pains were randomized with acupuncture, minimal acupuncture, and no acupuncture. The acupuncture was administered by specialized acupuncturists in 30 outpatient centers. This study consisted of 12 sessions per each patient for a period of 8 weeks. This study showed that acupuncture was more efficient in reducing pain than in those patients where it was not administered. The results of the study showed little difference when comparing acupuncture and minimal acupuncture.
A study that was carried out by Molsberger et al., (2002) showed that acupuncture is effective in treatment of low back pains. The randomized controlled trial had three parallel groups, including patients and observer who were blinded for verum and sham acupuncture. The participants were followed up for a period of three months where the efficacy of a combination of acupuncture and conservative orthopedic treatment was assessed on improving chronic low back pains. The study concluded that acupuncture can be used as an important supplement for conservative orthopedic treatment for management of chronic low back pain.
Another important study in unraveling the importance of acupuncture in relieving chronic low back pain was German acupuncture trials for chronic low back pain which was carried out by Haake et al., (2007). The study was based on the knowledge that there has not been any systematic study that compared verum acupuncture with sham acupuncture. Therefore the study aimed at comparing verum acupuncture with sham acupuncture and the conventional therapy. In the controlled trial that used the same research design as an earlier study by Molsberger et al., (2002), 1162 patients, aged 18-86 years old, were recruited for the study. All patients who participated in the study had a history of chronic low back pain and they were taken through a ten 30 minutes session attending two sessions every week. 387 participants underwent verum acupuncture, which was based on principles of Chinese medicine, while 387 others under sham acupuncture which was based on superficial needling at points considered non-acupuncture. The other 388 patients went through exercises. After 6 months of therapy, results showed that 47.6 of participants had reduced back pains while 44.2 in sham acupuncture and 27.4 in conventional therapy showed reduced back pains. The study showed that acupuncture, whether verum or sham greatly improved low back pain conditions. It also showed that sham or verum acupuncture was more effective compared to conventional therapy (Haake et al., 2007).
A review of the above studies affirms that acupuncture is the most convenient treatment to low back pains as has been shown by the results of the above studies. When administered by experienced acupuncturist, it leads to a reduction in the low back pains. The studies described above have all shown dramatic reduction in chronic low back pain for patients who were taken through acupuncture sessions as opposed to those who were taken through conventional therapies. Acupuncture should therefore be internationally recognized and recommended as a method of treating the chronic low back pains.
Effectiveness of acupuncture in alleviating chronic lower back pains
There are different studies that have looked into the effectiveness of acupuncture, when used alone or in combination with conventional therapies, in relieving chronic low back pain. Most of the studies are randomized follow up studies carried out on patients suffering from chronic lower back pains. All the studies have shown the effectiveness of acupuncture in alleviating chronic low back pains.
A study that was carried out by Cherkin et al., (2008) on 640 people aged between 18 and 70 years and who had low back pains, showed effectiveness of acupuncture in relieving back pain. The study was carried out based on the background information that revealed that chronic low back pain continues to be one of the major public health problems. There are more and more people seeking acupuncture to relieve chronic low back pain despite having no system study to look into the effectiveness of the method. These were subjected to Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) principles of acupuncture needling because they are the most common (Cherkin et al., 2008). The aim of the study was to aid in clarifying the value of acupuncture needling as the best way of treating chronic low back pains. The study wanted to clarify whether acupuncture needling has more paint relieving effect compared to the conventional medical care used to reduce chronic low back pains. The study also aimed at finding out whether individualized acupuncture needling was more effective than the standardized acupuncture needling. The study concluded that Acupuncture is more effective in improving the chronic low back pains and also that there is no difference between acupuncture and minimal acupuncture (Cherkin et al, 1989)
Another study that was carried by Benno et al., (2006) included the treatment of patients completing a standardized questionnaire at the baseline and after weeks 8, 26, and 52 after randomization. The variable in this experiment was the change in low back pain intensity from baseline to the end of week 8. In this study, a total of 298 patients participated and it was shown that pain intensity decreased between the baseline and week 8. Participants in the study were randomized and treated with acupuncture and minimal acupuncture which included superficial needing at points considered non acupuncture points. This study concluded that acupuncture was more effective in reducing the chronic low back pains than in those patients who did not undergo acupuncture. In another study, patients with chronic low back pains were randomized with acupuncture, minimal acupuncture, and no acupuncture. The acupuncture was administered by specialized acupuncturists in 30 outpatient centers. This study consisted of 12 sessions per each patient for a period of 8 weeks. This study showed that acupuncture was more efficient in reducing pain than in those patients where it was not administered. The results of the study showed little difference when comparing acupuncture and minimal acupuncture.
A study that was carried out by Molsberger et al., (2002) showed that acupuncture is effective in treatment of low back pains. The randomized controlled trial had three parallel groups, including patients and observer who were blinded for verum and sham acupuncture. The participants were followed up for a period of three months where the efficacy of a combination of acupuncture and conservative orthopedic treatment was assessed on improving chronic low back pains. The study concluded that acupuncture can be used as an important supplement for conservative orthopedic treatment for management of chronic low back pain.
Another important study in unraveling the importance of acupuncture in relieving chronic low back pain was German acupuncture trials for chronic low back pain which was carried out by Haake et al., (2007). The study was based on the knowledge that there has not been any systematic study that compared verum acupuncture with sham acupuncture. Therefore the study aimed at comparing verum acupuncture with sham acupuncture and the conventional therapy. In the controlled trial that used the same research design as an earlier study by Molsberger et al., (2002), 1162 patients, aged 18-86 years old, were recruited for the study. All patients who participated in the study had a history of chronic low back pain and they were taken through a ten 30 minutes session attending two sessions every week. 387 participants underwent verum acupuncture, which was based on principles of Chinese medicine, while 387 others under sham acupuncture which was based on superficial needling at points considered non-acupuncture. The other 388 patients went through exercises. After 6 months of therapy, results showed that 47.6 of participants had reduced back pains while 44.2 in sham acupuncture and 27.4 in conventional therapy showed reduced back pains. The study showed that acupuncture, whether verum or sham greatly improved low back pain conditions. It also showed that sham or verum acupuncture was more effective compared to conventional therapy (Haake et al., 2007).
A review of the above studies affirms that acupuncture is the most convenient treatment to low back pains as has been shown by the results of the above studies. When administered by experienced acupuncturist, it leads to a reduction in the low back pains. The studies described above have all shown dramatic reduction in chronic low back pain for patients who were taken through acupuncture sessions as opposed to those who were taken through conventional therapies. Acupuncture should therefore be internationally recognized and recommended as a method of treating the chronic low back pains.
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