Toothpicks: An effective treatment for lower-back pain?

[M_Smith]

Toothpicks: An effective treatment for lower-back pain?

[SIZE=-1] People suffering from chronic low back pain who received acupuncture or simulated acupuncture treatments had better results than those receiving only conventional care, according to a study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

In this trial of more than 600 adults with chronic lower-back pain who had never had acupuncture, folks were divided up and assigned to receive one of four treatments:

• individualized acupuncture, involving a customized prescription for acupuncture points from a diagnostician;
• standardized acupuncture, using a single prescription for acupuncture points that experts consider generally effective for chronic low back pain;
• simulated acupuncture, which mimics needle acupuncture with toothpicks but does not involve actual penetration of the skin; or
• conventional care, which mostly involved medications, primary care, and physical therapy visits.

After eight weeks of treatment, the patients receiving the three forms of acupuncture all improved significantly more than the patients receiving conventional care. And there was no significant difference between the groups receiving the needle and the toothpick acupuncture.



This study "raises important questions about acupuncture?s mechanisms of action," says lead researcher Daniel Cherkin, Ph.D. of Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle. And Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) says "This adds to the growing body of evidence that there is something meaningful taking place during acupuncture treatments outside of actual needling. Future research is needed to delve deeper into what is evoking these responses."

But why did the patients in this study respond so well to toothpicks? "Touch is a complex interaction that involves a completely different approach to a person," says John Santa, M,D, M.P.H., director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center. Our recent lower-back pain survey supports the benefits of a variety of back treatments that involve touch. Chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, physical therapy and injections into the back were all more likely to result in improvement than strategies not involving touch. "When a practitioner touches a patient, they enter a zone that we prefer most people to stay out of. Successful touch involves mutual trust, reassurance, confidence and relationships that each may help to relieve symptoms," says Santa. "The acupuncture study recently published reinforces how important touch can be in a healing relationship."

?Ginger Skinner

Image: Gaetan Lee

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