Study On The Clinical Effect Of Acupuncture Combined With Gua Sha In The Treatment Of Acute Low Back Pain

Background:Low back pain(LBP)is one of the most common complaints concerning pain in the world.There are several research articles providing evidence for acupuncture for treating chronic LBP,but few about treating acute LBP.Objective:This study assessed the efficacy of acupuncture combined with Gua Sha for the treatment of acute LBP.Methods:A clinical pilot cohort study was conducted.60 participants,recruited from the Fizjo Sport Med Medical Center(www.fiz.josportmed.pl),were divided into experimental and control groups.Life-threatening conditions or severe neurological defects were excluded.The experimental group(n=30)received a series of acupuncture treatments depending on the previously deducted TCM pattern.The control group(n=30)received one of the most effective manual therapy treatments called Fascial Manipulation.Back pain and disability created by it were measured using the Oswestry Disability Index(ODI)at three-time points:baseline,after 1 month of treatment,and 3 months after the last treatment.Adverse events were recorded and clinical efficacy was compared.Results.1.Acupuncture and Gua Sha method have been shown to be more effective rather than Fascial Manipulation after 1 month of treatment(p<0,05).2.In both groups of patients,the provided treatments resulted in a significantly lowering of pain(p<0,05).3.Improvements in physical fitness were found in all of the studied cases(p<0,05).4.The reduction of pain intensity was higher in Acupuncture and Gua Sha group comparing to the Fascial Manipulation group(p<0,05).5.No adverse event occurred in the observation group and control group.6.After ending the therapy within the next 3 months the pain was slightly increasing but was still on significantly lower levels than before the first treatment(p<0,05).Conclusion.Acupuncture and Gua Sha is a highly effective treatment for acute low back pain.