Acupuncture for Lower Back Discomfort

Causes of Lower Back Discomfort

Almost 80 percent of the population will suffer from some type of lower back discomfort during their lifetime.  There is no way to cure back pain, but acupuncture has proven to be an effective long term treatment for lower back discomfort.  Acupuncture treatment can relieve back pain for six months or longer with out any negative side effects.  Reasons for lower back pain are sprains, overstretching of the muscles, and strains, tearing of the muscles.  Sprains and strains typically occur from a sports injury, bad posture, or lifting heavy materials.  A herniated disc, a disc that bulges out from the spine, is also a common cause of lower back discomfort.   

Study Proves Effectiveness of Acupuncture

In 2009, a study was performed on 639 people who suffered from different levels of back pain.  Each patient was asked to rate their pain on a scale from 1-10.  Based on their answers, they were placed into four different groups.  Patients were given acupuncture treatments twice a week for three weeks, and then once a week for four weeks.  Researchers measured improvement after 8 weeks and found that all patients had shown signs of improvement.  They also measured any improvements after treatment on week 26 and 56.  They found that all patients had maintained improvement up to a year or more.  Acupuncture is becoming more popular as a treatment method as it provides patients with long term pain relief.  It only takes several sessions to cure acute pain, while reoccurring pain may require more sessions.