American researchers studying acupuncture for back pain in the emergency department, say it shows promise as an alternative to pharmacological intervention. They studied 52 adults presenting at Brooke Army Medical Center, Texas with back pain as their primary problem. At the discretion of their responsible clinician, patients were given either acupuncture (in a style known as battlefield acupuncture), or standard drug therapy as a control.
The acupuncture group exhibited a mean decrease of 33 in their visual analogue pain score, versus 21 for the drug group. At 48 to 72 hours after treatment, the acupuncture group showed a median improvement in back pain functional score of 12, versus 8 for the drug group.
(Battlefield Acupuncture Versus Standard Pharmacologic Treatment of Low Back Pain in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Emergency Medicine, October 2021.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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