Acupuncture for Lower Back Pain (5 Ways it Can Help)

My guide, "4 Habits That Can Add Years to Your Life With Traditional Chinese Medicine" is completely free, which you can download right here: http://alexheyne.com/free/

Lower Back Pain is awful - most of us have had the experience of hurting our backs, or having a dull (or sharp) ache over weeks or months. But some people endure severe, stabbing back pain that stops them from being able to work.

Acupuncture might be a good first option in the treatment of back pain. If you're thinking of going to your doctor to get painkillers, trying seeing an acupuncturist first.

----------

If you want to get even more strategies and tips on living longer with natural medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, you can subscribe right here on my website:

http://alexheyne.com

----- MORE ON THIS VIDEO -----

Studies mentioned (see companion article).

* Study 1: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11783809
* Swedish hospital, 50 patients with an average pain duration of almost 10 years
* Assessed after 1, 3, 6 months
* A significant decrease in pain intensities occurred at 1 and 3 months in the acupuncture groups compared with the placebo group. There was a significant improvement in return to work, quality of sleep, and analgesic intake in subjects treated with acupuncture.

* Study 2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23336503
* Overall, 2678 patients were identified from thirteen randomized controlled trials. The meta-analysis was performed by a random model (Cohen's test), using the I-square test for heterogeneity and Begg's test to assess for publication bias. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by pain intensity, disability, spinal flexion, and quality of life. Compared with no treatment, acupuncture achieved better outcomes in terms of pain relief, disability recovery and better quality of life, but these effects were not observed when compared to sham acupuncture

* Study 3: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23269281
* A total of 11 randomized-controlled trials (n=1139) were included. Compared with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acupuncture may more effectively improve symptoms of acute LBP (5 studies; risk ratio, 1.11; 95% confidence interval: 1.06, 1.16). For pain, there exists inconsistent evidence that acupuncture is more effective than medication. Compared with sham acupuncture, acupuncture may more effectively relieve pain (2 studies; mean difference, -9.38; 95% confidence interval: -17.00, -1.76) but not function/disability. Acupuncture appears to be associated with few side effects but the evidence is limited.

* Study 4: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14600536
* 46 Patients completed the 6 month trial and found that the response was better in the acupuncture group versus placebo nerve stimulation

* Study 5: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17237661
* A total of 2564 patients (mean age 57.7+/-14.0 y, 78.7% female), who were treated by 1607 physicians, were included in the main analysis. After 6 months (6-mo follow-up), 45.5% of patients demonstrated clinically significant improvements in their functional ability scores. The mean number of days with pain was decreased by half (from 21 to 10 d/mo)