Researches show…
In this paper [1] 46 patients from three NHS hospitals had been given a survey to find out if the acupuncture was helpful for their chronic back pain. After the treatments around half of the patients showed improvement in their physical and mental health.
There was a study done in Germany [2] were 454,920 patients with chronic conditions: headache, low back pain and osteoarthritis were treated with acupuncture. In 76% of cases the effectiveness was rated as marked or moderate.
Lower back pain is almost epidemic in our society. In my practice, I use acupuncture, cupping, gua sha and moxibustion to help people with chronic pain. Some patients also like the heating lamp warming the painful area. The choice of the technique depends on the cause of the pain.
NATUROPATHIC ADVICE
Maintain healthy weight,
Avoid exposure to cold,
Exercise regularly and gently.
(Swimming is great to strenghten the muscles being gentle to the joints at the same time, I can also recommend Qi Gong and Tai Chi)
[1] Wanki Lai, A., Zhao, K. (2011) A Survey on Management of Chronic Back Pain with Acupuncture in NHS Hospitals – The Patient Perception ATCM, vol. 18, no. 2
[2] Weidenhammer W, Streng A, Linde K, Hoppe A, Melchart D. (2007 )Acupuncture for chronic pain within the research program of 10 German Health Insurance Funds–basic results from an observational study. Complementary therapies in medicine.15(4):238-46