Exploring Acupuncture as a Time-Tested Option for Chronic Low Back Pain
Description
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
Chronic low back pain is the leading cause of disability in older adults and often limits daily movement and independence
Many treatments exist but do not always provide lasting relief and can have side effects or risks
Acupuncture has been used for centuries to relieve pain and restore balance in the body
It improves physical function, reduces anxiety, and enhances overall well-being when done consistently
Working with a licensed practitioner and following a treatment plan ensures safe, effective results
Chronic low back pain has a way of creeping into your day-to-day life — it affects how far you walk, how long you sit, even whether you say yes to plans. For older adults, those limits can make them feel as if they’re slowly losing their independence. In 2020, low back pain impacted 619 million individuals,1 2 making it the single cause of disability worldwide.3
Unfortunately, while the problem is common worldwide, so is the mistreatment of it. Chronic back pain is also a leading cause of opioid addiction. Studies show that individuals prescribed opioids for musculoskeletal issues, particularly spinal and lower back pain, have higher rates of opioid misuse and addiction compared to other pain categories.4 This reality leaves people asking: Is there a safer, drug-free alternative that works?
Acupuncture has been recognized as helpful for chronic back pain in peer-reviewed Western medical literature since at least the late 1990s, with institutional endorsement steadily growing since then.5
Ancient Chinese medical texts documented acupuncture use for pain, including back pain, over 2,000 years ago, but modern clinical studies and guidelines supporting its effectiveness for chronic low back pain appeared after the 1997 National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus statement6 recognized the evidence base for pain management, including chronic back pain. So what does the research reveal about this traditional pain remedy?
A Landmark Study Shows Acupuncture Delivers Lasting Relief
To determine whether acupuncture could offer meaningful relief for older adults suffering from chronic low back pain, researchers from Kaiser Permanente, RAND Corporation, and other institutions recently conducted a large-scale randomized clinical trial. Funded by the NIH through its Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative and published in JAMA Network Open, the study aimed to inform Medicare7 coverage decisions by evaluating acupuncture’s long-term effectiveness and safety.8
The study enrolled 800 adults aged 65 and older with chronic low back pain — Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: usual medical care (UMC), standard acupuncture (SA), or enhanced acupuncture (EA),9 which included additional sessions beyond the standard course. SA consisted of eight to 15 sessions over 12 weeks, while EA added four to six more sessions in the following 12 weeks.10
Acupuncture significantly reduced pain-related disability — At both six and 12 months, participants in the SA and EA groups reported greater improvements in back pain-related function11 compared to those receiving usual care.12 These improvements included better mobility, reduced pain intensity, and enhanced ability to perform daily tasks, such as walking and bending.
<label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published</label>“We saw consistent and meaningful improvements in pain-related disability across both acupuncture groups,” said Dr. Lynn DeBar, lead investigator from Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.13
<label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published</label>Emotional and psychological benefits were also taken into consideration — Anxiety symptoms were notably reduced in both acupuncture groups, and participants reported feeling more positive about their overall pain management.14 However, there were no significant differences between SA and EA in terms of disability reduction.
The treatment proved safe and well tolerated — Serious adverse events were rare and comparable across all groups. Minor side effects, such as discomfort at needling sites, were reported by fewer than 10% of acupuncture participants. Importantly, over 80% of participants completed the minimum recommended number of sessions, demonstrating high adherence.
The benefits were sustained over time — Beyond short-term relief, the study demonstrated that acupuncture’s positive effects on pain-related disability were not fleeting. According to the study authors:15
<label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published</label>“The relative benefit of acupuncture compared with usual medical care on disability persisted at 12 months. These findings suggest that acupuncture needling is an effective and safe treatment option for older adults with CLBP [chronic low back pain].”
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The results of this trial underscore acupuncture’s capacity as a safe, effective, and sustainable treatment for chronic low back pain in older adults. But to fully appreciate its role in modern medic
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