Acupuncture treatment 'beneficial' for back pain
Friday, 15 Sep 2006 15:59
Acupuncture treatment has remained controversial
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Acupuncture can be beneficial for back pain and is cost-effective, new research claims.
During the technique, needles are inserted and manipulated in certain points on the body. Research into the treatment remains divided as to whether it triggers an improvement in health or is simply a placebo.
The latest study, published today in the online edition of the British Medical Journal, claims that it has a small but significant benefit for people with pain in the lower back and is cost-effective in the long-term.
Each year an estimated 16 per cent of the UK population visit their GP with problems in their lower back. The cost to the NHS of treating this pain is estimated to reach £480 million while £10 billion annually is lost due to lost productivity and sickness.
Roughly two per cent of people are thought to turn to acupuncture to treat lower back pain.
Researchers from the University of Sheffield measured the pain levels of 241 adults aged between 18 and 65 with persistent lower back pain over a two-year study period.
During the period the patients were assigned to either usual NHS care or up to ten acupuncture sessions.
Results from the study found that over the two years the level of back pain varied. At three months, patients in the acupuncture group were significantly more likely to be very satisfied with their treatment compared with those receiving usual care.
However, after a year acupuncture patients showed just a small benefit in pain scores. This then improved at 24 months, as patients were more likely to report reduced worry about their back pain, less likely to report current use of pain medication for their back, and more likely to report no pain for the past 12 months.
Although the differences in pain scores were small, the researchers argue that they represent a clinically-worthwhile benefit.
In a separate study in the same journal, the same researchers also found that total NHS costs during the two-year study period were higher on average than for the acupuncture group.
Costs were measured from both an NHS and societal perspective alongside effectiveness, which was measured in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALY).
Although total costs were higher on average for the acupuncture group than for the usual care group, the cost of QALY gained was well below the threshold the NHS' health watchdog sets for whether a treatment is cost-effective.
"Our study contributes evidence for a short term acupuncture intervention compared with usual general practitioner care for non-specific low back pain," the researchers write.