SynthesisJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2012
The effectiveness of acupuncture in treating chronic non-specific low back pain: a systematic review of the literature.
Synthesis in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 104 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acupuncture for the Relief of Chronic Pain: A Synthesis of Systematic Reviews.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Short-Term Effects of Manual Therapy plus Capacitive and Resistive Electric Transfer Therapy in Individuals with Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Trial
- Efficacy of electro-acupuncture in postpartum with diastasis recti abdominis: A randomized controlled clinical trial.Frontiers in public health · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Acupuncture for low back pain due to spondylolisthesis: study protocol for a randomized controlled pilot trial.Trials · 2014Trial
- Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation on Postoperative Acute Visceral, Incisional, and Low Back Pain and Recovery in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Hysterectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Acceptability, values, and preferences of older people for chronic low back pain management; a qualitative evidence synthesis.BMC geriatrics · 2024Review
- Clinician Perspectives on Referring Medicaid Back Pain Patients to Integrative and Complementary Medicine: A Qualitative Study.Journal of integrative and complementary medicine · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Medical acupuncture · 2022Review
- Can Acupuncture Improve Chronic Spinal Pain? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Global spine journal · 2021Article
- Peripheral and Spinal Mechanisms Involved in Electro-Acupuncture Therapy for Visceral Hypersensitivity.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Review
- Acupoint Injection for Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Studies.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Acupotomy versus Manual Acupuncture for the Treatment of Back and/or Leg Pain in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled, Assessor-Blinded Clinical Trial.Journal of pain research · 2020Article
- Evaluating the Characteristics, Reporting and Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews of Acupuncture for Low Back Pain by Using the Veritas Plot.Journal of pain research · 2020Article
- Acupoint injection for nonspecific chronic low back pain: A protocol of systematic review.Medicine · 2019Article
- Complementary medicine use in the Australian population: Results of a nationally-representative cross-sectional survey.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- The effectiveness of acupuncture for chronic pain with depression: A systematic review protocol.Medicine · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLow back pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder defined as pain and soreness, muscle tension, or stiffness in the lumbosacral area of the spine which does not have a specific cause. Low back pain results in high health costs and incapacity to work causing an economic burden to society. The optimal management of non-specific low back pain appears to be undecided. Recently published guidelines support the use of acupuncture for treating non-specific low back pain and it has become a popular alternative treatment modality for patients with low back pain.
methodsA comprehensive systematic literature search was conducted through Medline using Ovid and Medical Subject Headings for randomized controlled trials published in the last 10 years. The outcomes scored were subjective pain scores and functional outcome scores.
resultsEighty two randomized studies were identified, of which 7 met our inclusion criteria. Three studies found a significant difference in pain scores when comparing acupuncture, or sham acupuncture, with conventional therapy or no care. Two studies demonstrated a significant difference between acupuncture treatment and no treatment or routine care at 8 weeks and 3 months. Three studies demonstrated no significant difference between acupuncture and minimal/sham acupuncture with no difference in pain relief or function over 6 to 12 months.
conclusionsThis review provides some evidence to support acupuncture as more effective than no treatment, but no conclusions can be drawn about its effectiveness over other treatment modalities as the evidence is conflicting.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.