Acupuncture for Low Back Pain in Pregnancy – a Prospective, Quasi- Randomised, Controlled Study

Abstract

This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of acupuncture in low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy under real life conditions, as compared with patients undergoing conventional treatment alone. A total of 61 conventionally treated pregnant women were allocated randomly into two groups to be treated or not by acupuncture. Twenty-seven patients formed the study group and 34 the control group. They reported the severity of pain using a Numerical Rating Scale from 0 to 10, and their capacity to perform general activities, to work, and to walk. We also assessed the use of analgesic drugs. Women were followed up for eight weeks and interviewed five times, at two-week intervals. All women completed the study. In the study group the average pain during the study period showed a larger reduction (4.8 points) than the control group (−0.3 points) (P<0.0001). Average pain scores decreased by at least 50% over time in 21 (78%) patients in the acupuncture group and in five (15%) patients in the control group (P<0.0001). Maximum pain and pain at the moment of interview were also less in the acupuncture group compared with the control group. The capacity to perform general activities, to work and to walk was improved significantly more in the study group than in the control group (P<0.05). The use of paracetamol was lower in the acupuncture group (P<0.01). These results indicate that acupuncture seems to alleviate low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy, as well as to increase the capacity for some physical activities and to diminish the need for drugs, which is a great advantage during this period.

Evaluating Acupuncture and Standard carE for pregnant women with Back pain (EASE Back): a feasibility study and pilot randomised trial

“…[28][29][30][31][32][33] To date, two rigorously conducted systematic reviews have been published. 7,34 The first of these was a Cochrane Review of eight studies (1305 participants) testing the effects of adding various pregnancy-specific exercises, physiotherapy, acupuncture and pillows to standard pre-natal care.…”

Effects of Chronic <b><i>Bryophyllum pinnatum</i></b> Administration on Wistar Rat Pregnancy

“…In a study on the most common non-obstetric complaints reported by Brazilian pregnant women, Guerreiro da Silva found that 30% of them experienced sleep disturbances [20], 56% anxiety [21], and 77% low back pain [22]. Although these symptoms are extremely common during pregnancy, they are often neglected by physicians during prenatal care, as most drugs available for their management are of questionable safety (pregnancy category C) or pose a risk to the fetus (pregnancy category D).…”

Low Back Pain in Pregnancy: Investigations, Management, and Role of Neuraxial Analgesia and Anaesthesia: A Systematic Review

“…Water gymnastics [35] and yoga [83] were also found to be effective in reducing pain intensity. Two case reports [84,85] and 6 RCTs studied the role of acupuncture [22,32,33,36,86,87] . Two of these RCTs demonstrated analgesic benefit when compared to controls [22,36] .…”

“…Two case reports [84,85] and 6 RCTs studied the role of acupuncture [22,32,33,36,86,87] . Two of these RCTs demonstrated analgesic benefit when compared to controls [22,36] . Acupuncture, as an adjunct to standard treatment, was found to be better than standard treatment alone for reduction of pain and improving the ability to perform daily activities in pregnancy-related PGP [32,33] .…”

“…The overall risk of bias across the studies was moderate. Most studies adequately stated the methods used for randomization and allocation concealment barring 4 RCTs [22][23][24][25] . Blinding of participants and personnel was considered "unclear" in most studies barring "low risk" in only one study [26] and high risk in 3 other studies [27][28][29] .…”