Published on
In a randomized clinical trial of 800 adults aged 65 years or older with chronic low back pain, both standard acupuncture and enhanced acupuncture with maintenance sessions significantly improved disability related to back pain compared with usual medical care, as published in JAMA Network Open. At 6 months, the adjusted mean disability score (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire) improved by −1.0 for standard acupuncture and −1.5 for enhanced acupuncture vs usual care with benefits sustained at 12 months. Clinically meaningful improvement (30% or greater reduction in disability) was seen in more than 39% of participants in the standard acupuncture group and 43.8% in the enhanced acupuncture group, compared with 29.4% for usual care. Pain intensity showed improvement with acupuncture, which is important for older adults who may have comorbidities and prefer to avoid invasive treatments or prescription drugs.
Differential diagnosis: While most back pain resolves on its own, patients tend to seek care for faster improvement and pain relief. Persistent pain, however, might tip off clinicians to broaden the differential beyond musculoskeletal concerns. Find out more about a case of back pain that led to an emergency department transfer from the JUCM archive: Back Pain From Vertebral Metastases in Prostate Cancer: A Case Report