Insights & Discussion
Tuina therapy for chronic low back pain indicates potential pain relief and reduced disability but doesn't improve quality of life
Tuina's efficacy and safety for chronic non-specific low back pain demonstrates its potential for reducing pain and physical disability but not improving quality of life; adverse events were mild and self-resolving, suggesting Tuina's relative safety.
Tuina massage for chronic low back pain reveals promising results amid methodological considerations
The study confirms the potential of Tuina in mitigating low back pain-related pain and physical disability, though not significantly impacting quality of life. Reported adverse events, such as localized bruising and pain, were transient and self-resolving, indicating Tuina's relatively safe nature.
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Moderate-quality evidence revealed an association between acupressure and greater pain relief compared with physical therapy.
2021 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Acupressure on Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Tao Li , Xiaohui Li ,Fan Huang , Qiang Tian , Z. Y. Fan , and S. Wu
Systematic Review Back, Hip & Leg Pain Low Back Pain
The systematic review and meta-analysis included 23 RCTs with 2400 participants with low back pain. Consistent with previous systematic reviews, moderate-quality evidence revealed an association between acupressure and greater pain relief compared with physical therapy.
Although rated as very-low to low, poor quality evidence suggested that acupressure, with or without combinative acupuncture therapy, contributed to a greater amelioration of pain and functional disability from low back pain compared with usual care, tuina massage, or acupuncture.
Trial sequential analysis results revealed that adequate studies supported the significance of the clinical response rate of acupressure, with or without combinative acupuncture therapy, compared to other treatments.
Ginger, through various methods, exhibits promising pain reduction effects for conditions such as dysmenorrhea, muscle soreness, osteoarthritis, low back pain, and migraines.
2020 Phytotherapy Research Clinical trials on pain lowering effect of ginger: A narrative review Rondanelli M, Fossari F, Vecchio V, Gasparri C, Peroni G, Spadaccini D, et al.
Review Article Chronic Pain Ginger Low Back Pain
The review incorporates a vast range of randomized controlled trials conducted over the past decade, where ginger was mainly used for pain relief in distinct conditions. The conditions included dysmenorrhea, delayed onset muscle soreness, osteoarthritis, chronic low back pain, and migraines. The variety of methods used included oral administration, topical application, and aromatic oil massages.
In the analysed trials, for dysmenorrhea and muscle soreness, the considered studies suggested a promising effect after both oral and topical administration of ginger. As for osteoarthritis, most trials demonstrated pain reduction following topical and oral use of ginger, one focused on the beneficial effects of ginger in relieving migraine pain. Last but not least, a trial involving massages with aromatic ginger oil highlighted its potential in reducing chronic low back pain.
Acupuncture, either used in isolation or as an adjunct to conventional therapy, provides short-term improvements in pain and function for chronic low back pain.
2015 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Acupuncture for Low Back Pain: An Overview of Systematic Reviews Liu L, Skinner M, McDonough S, Mabire L, Baxter GD.
Systematic Review Back, Hip & Leg Pain Low Back Pain
Sixteen systematic reviews were appraised. Overall, the methodological quality was low and external validity weak. For acute LBP, evidence that acupuncture has a more favorable effect than sham acupuncture in relieving pain was inconsistent; it had a similar effect on improving function. For chronic LBP, evidence consistently demonstrated that acupuncture provides short-term clinically relevant benefits for pain relief and functional improvement compared with no treatment or acupuncture plus another conventional intervention.
Acupuncture showed both clinically important changes and statistically significant results for management of low back and/or pelvic pain (LBPP) in pregnancy.
2014 Journal of Advanced Nursing A systematic review investigating the effectiveness of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for the management of low back and/or pelvic pain (LBPP) in pregnancy Close C, Sinclair M, Liddle SD, Madden E, McCullough JE, Hughes C.
Systematic Review Low Back Pain Pregnancy
Eight studies were selected for full review. Two acupuncture studies with low risk of bias showed both clinically important changes and statistically significant results. There was evidence of effectiveness for osteopathy and chiropractic. However, osteopathy and chiropractic studies scored high for risk of bias. Strength of the evidence across studies was very low.