Review of randomised controlled trials comparing efficacy of acupuncture Vs no acupuncture for chronic non-specific low back pain.

Abstract

Study Design: Systemic review of randomised controlled trials comparing efficacy of acupuncture Vs no acupuncture in non-specific chronic low back pain. Objective: Compare research methods and results. Background: There has been multiple trials to prove the efficacy of acupuncture in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain. We conducted review of randomised controlled trials comparing acupuncture Vs usual care with no acupuncture input. Methods: We identified 8 randomised controlled trials relevant to inclusion criteria. 3 were not focused on the topic and were excluded. Excluded articles were more about immediate pain relief after acupuncture, cost-effectiveness trial and was regarding other branch of Traditional Chinese medicine i.e. Acupressure. Results: None of studies managed to prove dramatic improvement in chronic non-specific back pain, however, all 4 trials proved acupuncture is an effective treatment vs. no acupuncture. 2 trials reached to statistically significant levels, 1 proved long term benefit is more than short term effect and 1 trial with high power managed to reach to near statistically significant. Hence, acupuncture is a safe adjunct to conventional pain relief therapy.