Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25821485›Full record

ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2015

Acupuncture for low back pain: an overview of systematic reviews.

Lizhou Liu, Margot Skinner, Suzanne McDonough, Leon Mabire, George David Baxter

Registry-linked trialAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03802045 (Electroacupuncture Frequency-related Effects on Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults), which is not on this map. Cited by 50 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
50citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT03802045 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2019, after this paper: background citation

Electroacupuncture Frequency-related Effects on Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults: Triple-blind, 12-month Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of Sao Paulo General HospitalRan2019 to 2021Enrolled125ConditionsLow Back PainArmsElectroacupuncture, Needle, Adhesive Moxa
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

50 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. The impact of novel inflammation-preserving treatment towards lumbar disc herniation resorption in symptomatic patients: a prospective, multi-imaging and clinical outcomes study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2024
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Lizhou LiuCentre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, 325 Great King Street, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Margot SkinnerCentre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, 325 Great King Street, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Suzanne McDonoughCentre for Health and Rehabilitation Technologies, Institute of Nursing and Health Research, School of Health Sciences, University of Ulster, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, County Antrim BT37 0QB, UK.
Leon MabireCentre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, 325 Great King Street, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
George David BaxterCentre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, 325 Great King Street, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective. As evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture for low back pain (LBP) is inconsistent, we aimed to critically appraise the evidence from relevant systematic reviews. Methods. Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) concerning acupuncture and LBP were searched in seven databases. Internal validity and external validity of systematic reviews were assessed. Systematic reviews were categorized and high quality reviews assigned greater weightings. Conclusions were generated from a narrative synthesis of the outcomes of subgroup comparisons. Results. 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. Conclusion. Systematic reviews of variable quality showed that acupuncture, either used in isolation or as an adjunct to conventional therapy, provides short-term improvements in pain and function for chronic LBP. More efforts are needed to improve both internal and external validity of systematic reviews and RCTs in this area.

Identifiers

PMID25821485
PMCPMC4364128

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.