Authors (including presenting author) :
Chung HT(1), Lau WK(1), Yuen CH(1), Cheung CT(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Physiotherapy Department, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital
Introduction :
Low back pain and sciatica is an extremely common problem in which most people experience at some point of their life. It occurs more frequently in age between 30-65 and in women. It has a substantial impact on individuals, health-care systems and causing financial burden to society. Therapeutic back exercise is proved to be an effective treatment for LBP. Yet, patients with severe LBP are always unable to perform the therapeutic exercise well. Acupuncture maybe considered as an option in management of acute LBP or sciatica in order to facilitate the therapeutic exercise practice.
Objectives :
To evaluate the effectiveness of the acupuncture on (1) pain relief and (2) numeric global rate of change scale (NGRCS) in patient with acute LBP or sciatica.
Methodology :
A prospective analysis of the effect of acupuncture was carried out.
Patients, who were referred to physiotherapy with diagnosis of lower back pain or sciatica, onset within 6 months and with Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) more than 5/10, were recruited to the project. With the physical examination, acupuncture points and trigger points were selected. Acupuncture needles were inserted to the potentially affected muscles, including erector spinae, multifidus, rotateres, piriformis, quadratus lumborum, etc. The needles were left for 20-30 minutes with manual stimulation by needle manipulation. Outcome measures were (1) subjective pain intensity of the LBP or sciatica by NPRS, (2) NGRCS and (3) average treatment session received.
Result & Outcome :
Weekly basis acupuncture treatment was performed on 64 patients (37 females and 27 males) with the mean age of 51. The average duration of LBP or sciatica before receiving acupuncture was 6.6 weeks. The average treatment session was 4 sessions. There was statistically significant improvement in pain (p<0.0001) and NGRCS (p<0.0001) after receiving acupuncture. Conclusion:
Acupuncture to the potentially affected muscles was shown to be effective in pain relief and overall improvement in patients with acute LBP or sciatica. Acupuncture maybe an alternative modality to facilitate patients with acute LBP or sciatica practicing therapeutic back exercise.
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