STUDY:

JOURNAL: Departments of Rheumatology, 1Pain Management/Anesthesiology and 2Research, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY

AUTHORS: C. F. Meng, D. Wang3, J. Ngeow1, L. Lao4, M. adminson2 and S. Paget

ABSTRACT: To determine if acupuncture is an effective, safe adjunctive treatment to standard therapy for chronic low back pain (LBP) in older patients.

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COMMENTARY: Fifty-five patients were enrolled, with eight drop-outs. Twenty-four subjects were randomized to the acupuncture group and 23 were randomized to the control group.

Acupuncture subjects had a significant decrease in RDQ score of 4.1 ± 3.9 at week 6, compared with a mean decrease of 0.7 ± 2.8 in the control group (P = 0.001). This effect was maintained for up to 4 weeks after treatment at week 9, with a decrease in RDQ of 3.5 ± 4.4 from baseline, compared with 0.43 ± 2.7 in the control group (P = 0.007).

The mean global transition score was higher in the acupuncture group, 3.7 ± 1.2, indicating greater improvement, compared with the score in the control group, 2.5 ± 0.9 (P < 0.001). Fewer acupuncture subjects had medication-related side-effects compared with the control group.

Conclusions. Acupuncture is an effective, safe adjunctive treatment for chronic LBP in older patients.