Acupuncture for Lower Back Pain

Research from Japan: lower back pain. Researchers in Japan have found acupuncture to be superior to the injection of local anaesthetic for the treatment of lower back pain. Twenty-six patients were randomly allocated to receive either acupuncture or local anaesthetic injection at two to five of the most painful points on the lower back, once per week for four weeks. Both groups experienced pain relief, but acupuncture provided significantly more pain relief at all time points measured, including at two and four weeks after completion of treatment.

The authors of the study conclude that both injection and acupuncture relieved pain, but acupuncture was superior for the immediate and sustained effects, suggesting that it is a useful treatment for lower back pain. The difference in the effects may be attributable to differences in the mechanism of pain suppression.

(Comparison of the Effectiveness of Acupuncture Treatment and Local Anaesthetic Injection for Low Back Pain: A Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial. Acupunct Med Dec 2009.)

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.