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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACUPUNCTURE FOR THE TREATMENT OF LOW BACK PAIN: A LITERATURE REVIEW. Linda Pugliese
Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most prevalent health problems. It is commonly treated with acupuncture as an adjunct or alternative treatment, particularly when conventional therapy has failed. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of LBP. Methods: Literature was collected using three databases: MEDLINE (1966-1999), CINAHL (1983-1999) and the Cochrane Library of Controlled Trials. Search terms used included “low back pain”, “back pain” and “acupuncture”. Additional studies were also compiled by using reference lists from search articles. This review includes studies using acupuncture treatment on subjects with non-specific LBP regardless of the stimulation method. The effectiveness of acupuncture was determined by comparing the results of acupuncture to control groups who received either placebo acupuncture, no treatment or other therapeutic interventions. Studies that were included used a primary outcome measure, such as pain intensity, a global measure of improvement and/or a functional scale. Results: The overall methodological quality of studies was poor due to small sample size, unclear study design and short term follow-up. In these studies, results indicated that acupuncture was more effective in reducing LBP than no treatment at all. However, there was no significant difference between acupuncture groups when compared to placebo acupuncture or other therapeutic interventions such as TENS or trigger point injections. Conclusion: Acupuncture is helpful in providing pain relief, but has not proven to be more effective than other therapeutic interventions for the treatment of LBP. Clinical Relevance: Acupuncture may be included in the management of LBP. Further studies should include more extensive study designs to accurately evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture and its role in the treatment of LBP.