Acupuncture may be more effective than ibuprofen for lumbar disc herniation

Acupuncture has a more favourable effect in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation than lumbar traction and ibuprofen, according to a recent study published by the BMJ.

Scientists from Guangzhou, China conducted a systematic review and meta analysis of randomised controlled trials in leading scientific databases to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH).

After an extensive search, the scientists narrowed down the study to thirty randomised controlled trials, involving 3503 clients, that were published in either English or Chinese and compared the effects of acupuncture with western medicine, lumbar traction, tui na and other techniques for LDH.

The results indicated that acupuncture alone had a ‘more favourable effect in the treatment of LDH than lumbar traction, ibuprofen, diclofenac sodium, meloxicam, mannitol plus dexamethasone and mecobalamin, fugui gutong capsule plus ibuprofen, mannitol plus dexamethasone, loxoprofen and huoxue zhitong decoction.’

Access the full study here

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