Treatment of low back pain with acupuncture

Twenty patients with low back pain were selected for treatment with acupuncture. Four standard acupuncture loci and a standard regime were used. The results were analyzed after a follow-up of 12 months. Initially, 16 patients responded favorably to the treatment while 4 did not respond at all. The degree of cure was not uniform. Instead they varied from complete cure in 4 to varying degrees of alleviation of pain in the rest. Recurrence or acute exacerbation of symptoms occurred in 13 of the 20 patients. Acupuncture was given to 11 of these patients and the results of treatment similated the initial course of acupuncture.