LONDON, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Acupuncture seems to have a "small but significant" benefit for low-back pain and is cost-effective in the long-term, according to a British study.
That's the conclusion of a pair of studies published Thursday in the British Medical Journal Online.
Lower-back pain costs Britain's National Health Service $900 million each year, with an additional $19 billion each year in lost productivity and sickness benefits, the study authors said.
Acupuncture is used by roughly 2 percent of U.K. adults each year for a variety of conditions, including back pain, but the therapy's benefits were unclear.
So British researchers looked at 241 adults ranging in age from 18 to 65 who had persistent, non-specific low-back pain, and randomized them to get up to 10 acupuncture treatments or the "usual NHS care."
The research team measured pain at intervals over two years and also noted the subjects' satisfaction with treatment and their use of pain medication.
At three months, patients in the acupuncture group were significantly more likely to be "very satisfied" with their treatment compared with usual care, and at 12 months patients in the acupuncture group showed a small benefit in pain scores compared to patients receiving usual care.
At the 24-month mark, the patients getting acupuncture were more likely to report reduced worry about their back pain, less likely to report current use of pain medication for their back, and more likely to report no pain for the past 12 months.
The team noted that, although the differences in pain scores between groups were small, they still "represent a clinically worthwhile benefit and can be viewed as a 'moderate' effect."
The researchers added that more research is needed to assess the optimum timing for an acupuncture treatment package, and the value of repeated courses of acupuncture for patients who have recurrent episodes of low-back pain.
