Acupuncture effective in acute pain

A patient with acute low back pain is assisted by two doctors to walk with acupuncture needles inserted as part of the “motion style acupuncture treatment” at Jaseng Hospiatal of Korean Medicine in this file photo. / Courtesy of Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine

By Yoon Ja-young

Some people having problems with their intervertebral discs experience acute low back pain so severe, they have trouble walking. They go to hospitals for emergency treatment and get painkiller injections. However, research published in Pain, a journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain has shown that acupuncture is more effective in treating acute low back pain.

In the joint research titled “Effects of motion style acupuncture treatment in acute low back pain patients with severe disability” by Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University and the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 58 patients who visited the hospital for acute low back pain were divided into two groups — the first group was composed of patients who chose to get acupuncture, while the second group opted for painkiller injections. Ninety-three percent of the patients had been diagnosed with a herniated disc. Due to severe acute pain, most patients arrived at the hospital, which specializes in spinal and joint injuries, in an ambulance or wheelchair, according to the research team.

The first group received “motion style acupuncture treatment” (MSAT) and the second group received an intramuscular injection of diclofenac, which is widely used for acute low back pain, in emergency treatment. After the first treatment, patients in both groups could freely choose which therapy they wanted.

MSAT, which was developed by the hospital, is a little different from traditional acupuncture as patients are assisted to walk while the acupuncture needles are still inserted, rather than sitting or lying passively.

It uses numerical rating scales to compare the degree of pain felt. Patients who chose acupuncture first felt 8.33 degrees of pain when they arrived at the hospital — 30 minutes after acupuncture, however, this decreased to 4.5, a 46 percent fall. Those who had the painkiller injection, meanwhile, said the pain fell to 7.41 degrees 30 minutes after the injection from 8.33, an 8.7 percent decrease. The gap continued afterwards — two weeks later the painkiller group felt 3.95 degrees of pain, while the acupuncture group was lower at 2.5.

Acupuncture was also better in lessening the disability of the patients — the disability index fell to 52.35 from 85.72, 30 minutes after treatment, allowing patients to walk by themselves. In the injection group it fell by only 0.41 to 87.93 from 88.34. They still had problems in walking or moving freely.

The gap lessened after four weeks, but those who received acupuncture still felt better than patients having injections, with the former marking 23 on the index and the latter, 42.5.

The team explained that the research is meaningful since MSAT complies with U.S. and European guidelines for treatment of acute low back pain, which advise patients to avoid bed rest and remain active. “As MSAT has received global recognition, we hope the treatment will help many patients with acute low back pain in the future,” said Shin Joon-shik, the founder of the hospital.

“Korean traditional medicine, especially acupuncture, has been less well known than it should be as there has been little scientific study. Publishing in a world-class journal will be a turning point,” said Choi Seung-hoon, president of the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine.