Americans spend more than $80 billion a year to treat neck, shoulder and back pain and much of this money is going to waste, according to the "Journal of American Medicine." Given the high cost and limited success of traditional treatment, researchers have been studying the effectiveness of alternative treatments. Several clinical trials point to acupuncture as a more effective--and less costly--way to treat neck and back ailments than normally prescribed treatments of medication, physical therapy and surgery.
Acupuncture and Back Pain
After eight weeks of either acupuncture or standard medical care, 60 percent of persons treated for back pain with acupuncture reported improvement, compared to 39 percent of people receiving traditional care, in a study reported in the May, 2009 issue of the "Journal of the American Medical Association." When asked to report their levels of pain after a year of treatment, 59 percent to 65 percent of those treated with acupuncture said their backs felt better, compared to 50 percent of people receiving traditional care. Some of the acupuncture patients were treated with needles and others with simulated needles. The higher rate of success was reported by those receiving simulated treatment, which involved applying toothpicks rather than inserting needles at appropriate points on the body.
Neck and Shoulder Pain
Acupuncture provides long-term relief for neck and shoulder pain, according to a Norwegian study that compared acupuncture with traditional treatment for female office workers who complained of chronic neck and shoulder pain. Seventy percent of the women who received acupuncture for their pain reported improvement. Only half as many women receiving a sham treatment, which involved inserting needles at slightly incorrect points, reported improvement, according to a 2004 study at the University of Oslo published in the journal "Pain." Three years after discontinuing treatment, the women who had received acupuncture said the neck pain was half as severe as before treatment. The women who had received the sham treatment reported after three years that their pain had worsened.
Neck Pain Study
Cancer patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center also found acupuncture more effective than physical therapy, analgesics or anti-inflammatory medicine for neck pain. Half of the patients were treated for four weeks with acupuncture and the other half with traditional medical treatment as prescribed by their doctors. Pain reduction was reported more often by the acupuncture patients than those who received traditional care, according to the researchers who reported their findings in a 2010 issue of the "Journal of Clinical Oncology."
High Cost of Back Pain
Further study was needed, the researchers said, but their findings supported acupuncture as a treatment for neck pain.The continued search for alternative treatments for neck, shoulder and back pain makes sense. In 2005, 15 percent of Americans reported back problems, and they were spending an average of $6,096 on treatment, according to researchers at the University of Washington and Oregon, who published their findings in 2009 in the JAMA.
Non-medical treatment
Some doctors point out that inexpensive, non-medical treatment may be more effective than either acupuncture or traditional medical care. Dr. Rick Deyo, co-author of the JAMA report on health care costs, told Newsweek magazine that rest and over-the-counter medications may be as helpful as anything else for occasional back pain and that exercise and weight loss may be the preferred treatment for chronic back problems. He doesn't discount the need for back surgery in all cases, but says many patients are paying high costs for unnecessary treatments.
References
- "New York Times"; Acupuncture and Neck Pain; John O'Neil, July 22, 2004.
- "Journal of American Medical Association"; Real and simulated acupuncture appear more effective than usual care for back pain; May 29, 2009, p. 1838
- "Drug Week"; Clinical Trial Research; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Medicine reports research in clinical trial research; June 11, 2010
- "Drug Week." Acupuncture Therapy. Researchers from HungKuang University describe findings in acupuncture therapy. July 31, 2009. P. 287
- "Drug Week." Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Studies from from Mayo Clinic add new findings in the area of alternative and complementary medicine. July 11, 2008. P. 416
