KEY POINTS

A third of U.S. adults have some degree of low back pain.

A study funded by the National Institutes of Health finds those who given acupuncture benefit.

The benefit, while modest, was sustained for a number of months.

About a third of U.S. older adults have chronic low back pain and it’s the leading cause of disability worldwide. A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health finds acupuncture provided greater improvement in pain reduction and function than usual medical care, medications that are often prescribed or physical therapy.

The institute reported an “urgent need for safe, effective and non-addictive pain management.”

“Of the different treatments we have for chronic low back pain, most have a somewhat modest effect,” said lead author Lynn L. DeBar, Ph.D.

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