A Randomized Trial Comparing Acupuncture, Therapeutic Massage, and Self-Care Education in the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain
Abstract \background Due to the uncertainty around the efficacy of popular types of alternative medicine for chronic back pain, we examined the effectiveness of acupuncture, TCM herbal medicine Singapore therapeutic massage, and self-care instruction in patients with persistent back pain.
Methods: We randomly allocated 262 patients with persistent back pain ranging in age from 20 to 70 years to receive acupuncture, therapeutic massage, or self-care instruction materials, according to their needs.
Participants were permitt to have up to ten massages or acupuncture treatments over the course of the study, which last ten weeks. Telephone interviewers who were not aware of the treatment group evaluate symptoms (0-10 scale) and functional status (0-10 scale) (0-23 scale).
95 percent of patients were available for follow-up for TCM herbal medicine in Singapore for weeks, and none withdrew due to adverse events.
BACK PROBLEMS
Back Problems are one of the most frequent ailments plaguing Americans and a leading reason for the use of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies or TCM herbal medicine in Singapore.
A third of people in the United States who suffered from low back pain sought therapy from a complementary and alternative medicine practitioner, the majority of whom were chiropractors, massage therapists, or acupuncturists, according to a 1997 study.
Ernst3 reported just four randomized studies investigating therapeutic massage, all of which yielded contradictory outcomes; all were regard to be of low quality and used massage simply as a “control” therapy.
7 We examined the effectiveness and cost of acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and self-management instructional resources for persistent low back pain.
Patients and techniques
Location of the study
The study was done at Group Health Cooperative in Washington State, a large staff-model health maintenance organization (HMO).
Treatments were administer at the offices of certifie acupuncturists and massage therapists who were members of an HMO-sponsore network of complementary and alternative medicine practitioners.
The Group Health Cooperative’s institutional review board approve the study methodology, and all participants provided written informed permission.
Patients
From automated visit data,
we selected individuals aged 20 to 70 years who attended a primary care physician for low back discomfort.
A research assistant telephoned respondents to gather baseline data, check eligibility, and randomize those who remained eligible.
Sciatica symptoms, recent acupuncture or massage for back pain, back care from a specialist or complementary medicine provider:-
- Severe clotting disorders or anticoagulant therapy
- Cardiac pacemaker
- Underlying systemic or visceral disease
- Pregnancy
- Involvement in litigation or compensation claims for back pain
- Inability to communicate in English, severe or progressive neurologic deficits
- Recent lumbar surgery
- Recent vertebral fracture.
Randomization
Following the collection of baseline data via computer-assist telephone interviews, patients were assign to one of three groups using a computer generat random sequence.
Right after the randomization, the first acupuncture or massage session for those in those groups was set up.
Self-care materials were sent to those in those groups.
Patients continue to receive their routine medical treatment.
Treatments
It was agree that acupuncturists and massage therapists would be allow to schedule up to 10 visits
TCM herbal medication Singapore for each patient over the course of ten weeks,
the understanding that the treatment expenses and effectiveness would be track.
It is necessary for providers to record particular treatment details, including their sentiments about being restrict by the protocol.
Conclusions
A therapeutic massage was effective in treating chronic low back pain, and the results seemed to linger for a lengthy period of time. In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture was often found to be ineffectual. Treatment for persistent back pain with massage therapy may be a feasible alternative to regular medical treatment.
