Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain: Evidence Summary

This evidence summary provides a comprehensive review of the efficacy of acupuncture in treating chronic low back pain. The study selection, evidence summary, and search results are presented. The study by Hutchinson et al. (2012), Cherkin et al. (2008), and Liu et al. (2015) are reviewed and compared. The evidence suggests that acupuncture is a valuable intervention for chronic low back pain compared to other therapies.

400863 Spring 2018, Assessment 3 Part B
Assignment — Using Evidence
Student name: Student ID:
Evidence selection
The study by Hutchinson, Ball, Andrews, and Jones (2012) is the most
appropriate for the clinical question because it is a comprehensive systematic
review explicitly conducted for randomized control trials (RCT) on the
effectiveness of acupuncture as an intervention in cases of low back pain
(LBP). The topic of this article is thus relevant to my clinical question. The
study was also published in October 2012 meaning that it is relatively current
and will, therefore, address current matters in relation to the study topic.
The article by Cherkin et al. (2008) is appropriate for the clinical question
because it is a quantitative RCT conducted on 640 patients diagnosed with
low back pain within the previous three months. This article will, therefore,
provide real-time evidence of the efficacy of acupuncture treatment, which is
also its title. Besides testing the efficacy of acupuncture, this article aims at
addressing the weaknesses of previous methodologies used in assessing
acupuncture for low back pain. Therefore, the article is appropriate because it
will incorporate shortcomings in previous studies and thus provide a protocol
for RCT.
The review by Liu, Skinner, McDonough, Mabire, and Baxter (2015) has been
chosen because it is the most current systematic review of acupuncture for
low back pain. Thus it will provide the most current research on the efficacy of
the intervention. Additionally, the study extends its broad review by searching
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400863 Spring 2018, Assessment 3 Part B
seven databases. This implies that most of the relevant studies to the study
topic will be captured. Furthermore, the external and internal validity of the
reviews was examined, meaning the findings can be reliable. The literature
review by Hutchinson et al. (2012) considered seven studies published in the
last ten years while that of Liu et al. (2015) appraised sixteen reviews from
their inception until 2014. Thus all the articles combined covered an extensive
period.
Evidence summary
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400863 Spring 2018, Assessment 3 Part B
Introduction
Chronic low back pain is a public health issue and a common musculoskeletal
disorder that incapacitates individuals and leads to high health costs thus
becoming an economic and social burden to the society (Hoy et al., 2104).
There seems to exist indecision on the most effective intervention for low back
pain between acupuncture and other usual therapies (Madsen, Gøtzsche, &
Hróbjartsson, 2009). This review seeks to ascertain the efficacy of
acupuncture in the treatment of chronic low back pain.
Hutchinson and others conducted a systematic literature review on the
efficacy of acupuncture in LBP and found out that out of the seven studies
reviewed, three of them found no substantial difference in pain relief between
acupuncture and other conventional therapies, but existing evidence showed
that acupuncture was much effective than no intervention at all. However, the
study couldn’t conclude on its effectiveness than other treatments due to
conflicting evidence.
The study by Cherkin et al. clarified on the worth of acupuncture as an
effective treatment of chronic LBP. Liu and his colleagues found out that the
independent or joint use of acupuncture with other conventional therapies
resulted in improved short-term pain relief and was effective in treating low
back pain. The findings by Hutchison only show that acupuncture intervention
is useful in the treatment of LBP but doesn’t compare its effectiveness with
others existing therapies. Relatively similar outcomes were found by Liu and
others who showed that acupuncture was much more effective either when
independently applied or when utilized as an adjunct to the other
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400863 Spring 2018, Assessment 3 Part B
interventions. Cherkin also clarifies the worth of acupuncture needling by
exploring the weakness of previous studies that assessed the value of
acupuncture for chronic low back pain.
These results show that acupuncture is valuable in the treatment of LBP
compared to other therapies. Furthermore, most of the previous studies that
found acupuncture to be ineffective have been disapproved by Cherkin et al.
who shows that most of them had shortcomings in their methodologies.
Therefore, these findings provide a solution to the clinical question on the
effectiveness of acupuncture. Furthermore, the outcomes of the three articles
provide strong evidence in favor of the value of acupuncture in treating LBP.
This is because the reviews cover several articles from different databases
ranging from those published a long time ago to the current studies. Meaning
that relative uniformity in the conclusions across the articles can be relied on.
Furthermore, the evidence from the quantitative RCT by Cherkin et al.
provides data based on actual data which is vital for determining the
effectiveness of treatment methods (Hoe & Hoare, 2012).
Conclusion
Acupuncture is the most appropriate intervention for LBP despite the existing
evidence that is conflicting. Several studies conducted at different times by
different authors in different settings confirm this hypothesis.
References
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400863 Spring 2018, Assessment 3 Part B
Cherkin, D. C., Sherman, K. J., Hogeboom, C. J., Erro, J. H., Barlow, W. E.,
Deyo, R. A., & Avins, A. L. (2008). Efficacy of acupuncture for chronic low
back pain: protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 9(1), 10.
Hoe, J., & Hoare, Z. (2012). Understanding quantitative research: Part
1. Nursing Standard (through 2013), 27(15-17), 52.
Hoy, D., March, L., Brooks, P., Blyth, F., Woolf, A., Bain, C., ... & Murray, C.
(2014). The global burden of low back pain: estimates from the Global
Burden of Disease 2010 study. Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 73(6),
968-974.
Hutchinson, A. J., Ball, S., Andrews, J. C., & Jones, G. G. (2012). The
effectiveness of acupuncture in treating chronic non-specific low back pain:
a systematic review of the literature. Journal of orthopaedic surgery and
research, 7(1), 36.
Liu, L., Skinner, M., McDonough, S., Mabire, L., & Baxter, G. D. (2015).
Acupuncture for low back pain: an overview of systematic
reviews. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015.
Madsen, M. V., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Hróbjartsson, A. (2009). Acupuncture
treatment for pain: systematic review of randomised clinical trials with
acupuncture, placebo acupuncture, and no acupuncture groups. Bmj, 338,
a3115.
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400863 Spring 2018, Assessment 3 Part B
Search results
Acceptable — good
Liu et al. (2015)
Acceptable — good
Acceptable — good
Heimer et al. (2009)
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400863 Spring 2018, Assessment 3 Part B
Acceptable-Good
Hartchison et al. (2012)
Acceptable -good
Cherkin et al. (2008)
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400863 Spring 2018, Assessment 3 Part B
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