A survey on management of chronic back pain with acupuncture in NHS hospitals – the patient perception

Background: Lower back pain is one of the most common causes of long-term sickness in the UK. National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended that patients with persistent lower back pain for more than six weeks should be offered acupuncture. However, there is controversy over the benefits of acupuncture treatment.This survey was to investigate the patients‘ views and perceptions of the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment in chronic lower back pain in Pain Clinics at NHS hospitals. Methods: A self-completion questionnaires were handed out to patients with chronic lower back pain at three NHS Hospitals. Patients who took part must have had at least three acupuncture sessions.The questionnaire used in this study covered a range of areas for information collection including pain intensity on a numerical rating scale, number of treatment sessions and physical and mental health components of SF-36. Results: 46 (f=38) patients took part in the survey. Patients suffered lower back pain ranged from 9 months to 46 years (11.9±9.01). Number of treatment sessions ranged from 3 to 25 sessions (8.91±5.46). The pain intensity after treatments significantly decreased by 3.20±2.4 with a 95% confidence interval of 2.51 to 3.89 (P<0.0001). Overall, roughly half of the participants showed an improvement in their physical (49.7%) and mental health (51.9%). Conclusion: From the patients‘ perception, it has been clearly suggested that acupuncture may have significant clinical effect in reducing chronic lower back pain.