A small UK-New Zealand exploratory study suggests a trend of increased benefits after ten sessions of adjunctive acupuncture for lower back pain of a chronic nature. A total of 45 patients were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus either four, seven or ten acupuncture treatments. Outcome measures including back function, pain and disability, suggested that at the 12 week point, the 10 session group experienced most benefit. Over 90% of the study participants felt “very satisfied” &/or “extremely satisfied” with acupuncture treatment.
(Acupuncture for chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled feasibility trial comparing treatment session numbers. Clinical Rehabilitation, 1 April 2017.)
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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