Acupuncture as complementary treatment for lower back pain

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Lower back pain is one of the most common disorders in the world. Acupuncture is one the methods of treatment, but its efficiency is still researched. Aim of the study: To verify the effectiveness of acupuncture on low back pain. Material and Methods: Search of the PubMed database using the following keywords: acupuncture, lower back pain. Only full-length articles were taken into consideration. Results: The studies show that acupuncture is effective in the treatment of chronic low back pain and is not inferior to the usual care. However its efficiency in treatment of acute low back pain is not satisfactory and patients still require additional pharmacotherapy. Conclusion: Acupuncture is efficient in the treatment of chronic low back pain, however more research is needed on its efficiency in treatment of acute low back pain.   Keywords: acupuncture, lower back pain