Low back pain is perhaps up there in the list of most common reasons why the average American pays the physician a visit. It is a problem that is very irritating and tends to hinder our daily performance at work. Not only that, but it can also limit the extent of our recreation as well because the pain gets worse at specific positions. Anyhow, treatments so far had involved drug therapies mostly and there was hardly any other alternative that was being used.
Acupuncture For Low Back Pain Relief
Recently, the American College of Physicians (ACP) has released a study in one of the most well-known medical journals called Annals of Internal Medicine. Before moving on, this study is, therefore, presented by one of the most prestigious bodies in the country and in one of the most reputable journals which is abundant evidence of its authenticity and validity.
The ACP has recommended the use of non-drug therapies in the treatment low back pain. This recommendation came in as part of a broad evidence-based clinical practice guideline. They go on to say that subacute and acute low back pains should be taken care of without the involvement and administration of any drugs and that treatments such as acupuncture, massage, and spinal manipulation should be employed instead in efforts to cure the patient of this problem.
Modern-day physicians strongly believe that using drugs for the treatment of low back pain is a waste of time and resources. They firmly believe that acupuncture among other non-drug therapies is the safer and healthier option in this regard.
Why Not Drugs And Pills For Low Back Pain?
Evidence has shown that the common drugs used for this purpose are not effective in the treatment of the problem. The effects of the placebo and the actual drug were not so different which thus showed that the problem can be dealt with without drugs.
The President of the ACP has said that doctors should refrain from prescribing drugs to low back pain patients and also not to burden them with unnecessary expensive tests.
These measures are however specific for patients with acute pain, that is pain that lasts less than four months or subacute pain, that is pain that lasts for four to twelve months.
As for patients with chronic conditions, the ACP recommends that they use non-drug therapies as much as possible and keep away from conventional methods of treatment unless extremely necessary specifically because there is no evidence to suggest that it fared better than the non-drug therapies in any of the cases.
Can Acupuncture Heal Low Back Pain?
Acupuncture is very much recommended in this study for the management of pain and the treatment of the condition. The idea is that low back pain is something that heals itself with time thus it is wiser to keep away from drugs and their harms and replace them with safer non-drug therapies such as acupuncture that is known to work and exhibit promising results.