A Spanish multicentre trial investigating acupuncture for the treatment of acute back pain has found real, sham and placebo acupuncture to be effective, with all three better than conventional treatment alone. A total of 275 patients with non-specific acute low back pain were assigned randomly to four different groups: conventional treatment alone (advice, plus analgesics as required) or complemented by five sessions over a two-week period of either true acupuncture (a flexible, semi-standardised treatment protocol), sham acupuncture (at points considered non-specific for back pain) or placebo acupuncture (with non-penetrating needles). A positive result was judged to be a reduction in back pain disability scores of thirty-five percent or more after two weeks of treatment. Analysis of the results showed that patients receiving both true and sham acupuncture were five times more likely to have experienced a positive result at the end of two weeks. Those who had received placebo acupuncture were about 2.5 times more likely to have responded positively to treatment. (Acupuncture in patients with acute low back pain: A multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial. Pain. 2012 Sep;153(9):1883-9).
Meanwhile, Korean authors who carried out a systematic review of the evidence for acupuncture as a treatment for acute LBP have concluded that it is encouraging. Data from a total of 11 randomised-controlled trials (a total of 1139 participants) were included in their meta-analysis. The results showed that, compared with NSAIDs, acupuncture may more effectively improve symptoms of acute LBP. Acupuncture was also found to compare favourably with sham for the relief of pain. (Acupuncture for acute low back pain: a systematic review. Clin J Pain. 2012 Aug 6; doi: 10.1097/AJP.0b013e31824909f9).
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