Efficacy of acupuncture in treating chronic non-specific low back pain

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To provide an update on the evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating chronic non-specific low back pain (CNSLBP) based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for CNSLBP published between 2006 and 2020.

METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted through the University of Malta website, using the HyDi search engine. The ‘Advanced Search’ option was chosen in order to search for articles that were published in English, and associated with the key words, ‘Chronic’, ‘Acupuncture’, ‘Needle’, ‘Needling’, ‘Non-specific’ and ‘Low Back Pain’, which were entered in their ‘Subject’ field, from the year 2006 till 2020. A comprehensive reading and analysis was done for the search result.

RESULTS: Through the use of the HyDi search engine, accessible through the University of Malta, eighteen randomized controlled trials that met the criteria of this study were selected.

CONCLUSION: Through the analysis and comparison of the studies selected for this literature review, there is evidence providing that acupuncture is significantly more effective than current conservative treatment modalities for patients with CNSLBP in reducing pain and improving function.

目的: 考查和研究2006至2020年间有关针刺治疗慢性非特异性腰痛(CNSLBP)的随机对照试验(RCTs)的文章, 为针刺治疗CNSLBP的有效性提供最新证据。方法: 通过使用马耳他大学提供的“HyDi”搜索引擎, 检索2006至2020年间有关针刺治疗该病的英文文献。以“慢性”, “针刺”, “针”, “刺”, “非特异性”及“腰痛”为主题词进行高级检索。对检索结果进行全面阅读与分析。结果: 通过使用“HyDi”搜索引擎, 在众多文章中共检索筛选出18篇符合纳入标准的针刺治疗CNSLBP的随机对照研究文献。结论: 通过对这18篇文章的对比分析, 有证据显示, 相较于当下保守的治疗方式, 针刺治疗腰痛对于缓解疼痛和提高功能有更显著的疗效。