Sept. 24, 2007 — Acupuncture proved to be more effective than conventional lower back pain treatments in a new study, but it was no more effective than a sham needle procedure.

The German study compared outcomes among 1,162 patients with chronic low back pain treated with traditional Chinese acupuncture; sham acupuncture; or a conventional approach to treating back pain using drugs, physical therapy, and exercise.Read More

Millions of people suffer with low back pain, and it is one of the top reasons people seek medical treatment. Back problems are also, by far, the primary reason for appointments with acupuncturists. But does acupuncture really help these patients? Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Peninsula Medical School, Plymouth, U.K., analyzed dozens of studies from around the world on acupuncture for low back pain. The study results will be published in the April 19 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.Read More

For more than 2,500 years, acupuncture has been one of the world’s most popular forms of health care. Only in the latter part of this century has the practice of acupuncture gained acceptance in North America, but the profession appears to have earned much respect in that short time.

A 1998 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, for example, showed that medical doctors refer their patients to acupuncturists more than any other “alternative” care provider;1 the same study also revealed that 51% of medical doctors believe acupuncture to be efficacious and of value. Read More