Acupressure
is more effective in reducing lower back pain than standard physical
therapies, a study suggests. Researchers in Taiwan found the
effects of the therapy which involves applying pressure on points
stimulated by acupuncture lasted for six months. They gave 129 patients
six doses of either acupressure or physical therapy over a month and
compared the results. The study in the BMJ Online also found those who
had acupressure had improved body function and were less disabled.
AddedFeb 11, 2008
| 10,674 Reads
Those in the physical therapy group were given routine therapies such as
spinal manipulation, heat therapy and electrical stimulation as well as
exercise.
The acupressure group received sessions using a uniform technique.
The research team from the Institute of Preventive Medicine at the National
Taiwan University in Taipei questioned all patients on their symptoms before the
treatment and afterwards, and then again six months later.
They asked them how much pain they were in, whether it interfered with work
and how many days off they had had.
They also asked how much their sleep was disturbed and how satisfied they
were.
Combination of therapies
The team found acupressure resulted in an 89% reduction in disability
compared to physical therapy.
They also found those in the acupressure group reported greater benefits in
terms of leg pain, interference with work and days off from work or school.
Dr Graham Chandler, an adviser to the Institute of Complementary Medicine,
said the findings already confirmed what many in his field knew.
"We find that acupressure is very effective in treating back pain generally,
but it is not as effective as acupuncture.
"We would agree that it is better than physiotherapy for back pain but not
all physical therapies.
"Acupressure is best used in combination with Chinese physical therapies and
with techniques that teach the muscles to regain the original shape they had
before injury."
Intervention
A spokeswoman for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy said experts
recognised that offering one form of intervention in isolation will rarely solve
the problem.
"Physiotherapists will assess their patients and draw up a treatment program
for their specific condition and lifestyle, which may combine several techniques
including manual therapies, appropriate exercises and in some cases acupressure.
"It is important that patients are educated in the cause of their problems
and how they can self-manage their symptoms.
"This research offers further confirmation of the benefits physiotherapy
intervention can bring to patients with lower back pain."
Back pain affects approximately 17.3 million people in the UK - over one
third of the adult population.
For around 3 million people their pain lasts throughout the year.
First Reported by The BBC, United Kingdom
Ed. Comment
Acupressure works by stimulating important meridian points in the
energy body.
It is significant that "physical exercise alone", i.e. physical
stimulation that DOES NOT take the existence of an energy body into
consideration, has clearly performed second best.
It would be interesting to lay a third group, in which ONLY the
energy system is being stimulated, side by side with these findings.
AddedFeb 11, 2008
| 10,674 Reads
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