Biomechanical changes of acupuncture treatment for lower back range of motion : a clinical study to bridge the concept of traditional Chinese acupuncture with westernudscientific evidence of the efficacy of acupuncture treatment

摘要

Acupuncture treatment remains one of the most common treatments for lowerudback pain. Yet, there is very little research to show that acupuncture will also improveudmobility and function of the lower back. This study attempted to assess the effectivenessudof an acupuncture treatment protocol on lower back pain and lower back range of motion.udThree acupuncture treatments were provided for 21 participants (mean age: 44.6 +/- 10.9udyears) reporting lower back pain averaging 6.8 years with an average 6.3 pain score. Audlumbar motion monitor was used to record trunk kinematics in 3-dimensions - the sagittal,udlateral and twist planes - before and after treatments.udUsing pretest-posttest comparisons following three acupuncture treatments,ud80.95% of oarticipants exhibited an increased sagittal range of motion. Changes inudangular range of motion were statistically significant in 3-dimensions. However, liftingudand lowering tasks were not statistically significant.udThis study suggests that acupuncture treatments can increase a particpant’sudangular range of motion as well as to possibly improve the function of lifting tasks. Threeudacupuncture treatments may actually demonstrate the earliest improvement that may beudexpected for treating lower back pain.