Acupuncture and Acupoints for Low Back Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Acupuncture has been used as a therapeutic intervention for the treatment of numerous diseases and symptoms for thousands of years, and low back pain has been studied and treated the most in acupuncture clinics. Traditional theory strongly suggests that the selection of acupoints will influence their clinical effects and combinations (e.g., the clinical effects of a particular acupoint or combination on reducing pain), but this idea was not considered in earlier systematic reviews and meta-analyses. We performed a systematic review, meta-analysis, and network analysis to evaluate the magnitude of the effects of acupoints used to treat low back pain in randomized controlled clinical trials. We found that acupuncture significantly reduced pain in patients with low back pain compared with the control group. The most frequently prescribed acupoints were BL23, GV3, BL20, BL40, and BL25, whereas the acupoints with the highest average effect size scores were BL20, GV3, GB30, GB34, and BL25. Further, the combinations of BL23-BL40, BL23-B25, and BL23-BL60 were the most frequently prescribed, while BL23-GV3, BL40-GV4, and BL23-BL25 showed the largest average effect size. By calculating clinical outcomes based on average effect sizes, we found that the most popular acupoints might not always be associated with the best results. Although a more thorough investigation is necessary to determine the clinical effects of each acupoint and combination on patients, we suggest that our approach may offer a fresh perspective that will be useful for future research.

Therapeutic effects of acupuncture therapy for kidney function and common symptoms in patients with chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In such cases, patients are often treated with opioids, which can expose them to side effects such as nausea, anorexia, constipation, fatigue, impaired cognitive function, and risk of addiction [ 56 ]. Acupuncture has been shown to reduce pain in various populations [ 57–59 ], and these findings warrant consideration of extending this evidence to CKD. Consequently, there is a need for future research to explore the use of acupuncture in this population.…”

Estimating surgical probability: Development and validation of a prognostic model for patients with lumbar disc herniation treated with acupuncture

“…[32] Previous studies have shown that acupuncture can enhance blood circulation and oxygen supply to the cauda equina, nerve root, and sciatic nerve, promoting nerve recovery and symptom improvement. [33] Simultaneously, acupuncture can modulate the function of the endogenous pain regulation network, [34] providing rapid analgesic effects in patients. [35] Acupuncture has shown remarkable effectiveness in treating LDH; however, conservative treatment is ineffective in some patients, as the number of cases increases.…”

“…[ 30 , 31 ] Acupuncture has emerged as a preferred conservative treatment option attributed to its notable benefits of “fast efficacy and minimal adverse effects.” [ 32 ] Previous studies have shown that acupuncture can enhance blood circulation and oxygen supply to the cauda equina, nerve root, and sciatic nerve, promoting nerve recovery and symptom improvement. [ 33 ] Simultaneously, acupuncture can modulate the function of the endogenous pain regulation network, [ 34 ] providing rapid analgesic effects in patients. [ 35 ]…”

Intelligent Acupuncture: Data-driven Revolution of Traditional Chinese Medicine

“…When combined with acupuncture knowledge, AI can efficiently handle large amounts of chaotic data and uncover hidden laws, patterns, and association rules that aid acupoint selection. Precision acupuncture prescriptions leveraging AI techniques are frequently used to select acupoints for a diverse range of illnesses, such as lower back pain [62] , primary osteoporosis [63] , and tic disorders [64] , as depicted in Figure 3.…”