Efficacy of Acupuncture in Chronic Low Back Pain Treatment: A Literature Review

Aims: To evaluate the effects of the use of acupuncture as a treatment of chronic low back pain.

Methodology: This study follows the integrative methodology of literature review, seeking articles published on PubMed, using keywords from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) to form the search Formula: Acupuncture AND "low back pain". Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials published between 2018 and 2023, with free full text available in english or portuguese. The exclusion criteria was not answering this review’s orienting question.

Results: Several studies analyzed the efficacy of different acupuncture and electroacupuncture approaches in the treatment of chronic low back pain. One study highlighted invasive laser acupuncture with different wavelengths, revealing improvements in pain and disability scales after 4 weeks. Another research compared electroacupuncture at various frequencies, observing similar reductions in pain between the groups. Combined acupuncture (hands and ear) was more effective than usual medical treatment, showing greater reduction in pain and cure rate. Both electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture also demonstrated efficacy in reducing pain intensity and quality. Acupuncture with embedded wires stood out, showing positive and rapid results in chronic low back pain. Another study revealed that both electroacupuncture and a placebo had positive impacts on pain intensity.

Conclusion: Even though there are multiple forms of acupuncture used throughout the studies, and even those that appear on multiple studies are done differently on those appearances, all are used as a way to reduce CLBP. In that sense, the positive effects from using traditional acupuncture or some different form of acupuncture as a treatment for CLBP is highlighted by the results from the studies that were a part of this review.