May 31, 2001 – According to a randomized study of 262 people, massage is ultimately more effective than acupuncture in relieving chronic back pain.
This research was presented at the International Conference on Complementary, Alternative and Integrative Medicine Research, which took place in San Francisco from May 17-19, 2001, under the auspices of the Department of Continuing Medical Education, School of Medicine. from Harvard University and the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco.
The participants all suffered from persistent back pain for more than six weeks and were divided into three groups (acupuncture, therapeutic massage and educational material for self-management). People in the active treatment groups (massage and acupuncture) received up to ten treatments over a ten week period, and changes in symptoms and function were measured after 4, 10 and 52 weeks.
Subjects received an average of 8 acupuncture treatments and 8.3 massages. At the end of the ten weeks, these people were quite satisfied with their treatments (50% for the massage and 37% for the acupuncture) compared to the group which received only advice of independent management (13% of satisfaction).
According to the researchers, the first assessment after 4 weeks did not show significant improvement in either symptoms (pain) or function. On the other hand, during the second evaluation at ten weeks, symptoms and function were significantly improved with an advantage of massage over acupuncture and these two treatments over independent management.
Surprisingly, after a year, people who received massage treatments and self-management counseling were in better shape than those who received acupuncture treatments.
The researchers note that during the 52-week period analyzed, outpatient treatment costs were 30-45% lower for people who received massage rather than advice or acupuncture. Hence their conclusion that therapeutic massage is an effective both short and long term treatment for chronic back pain and can reduce subsequent treatment costs.
HealthPassport.net
Cherkin DC, Eisenberg D, Kaptchuk T, Deyo RA, Street JH, Barlow WE, Sherman K, A randomized trial comparing acupuncture, therapeutic massage and self-care education for chronic low back pain. Group Health Cooperative, Center for Healht Studies, 1730 Minor Ave., suite 1600, Seattle, WA 98101-1448
