Self-Administered Acupressure Promising for Chronic Back Pain Relief

“Acupressure is a low-cost, low-risk approach that has been used for self-management of pain,” he says.

Although more data are needed to confirm the efficacy of acupressure for chronic low back pain, the move toward using nonpharmacologic and alternative therapies for chronic low back pain is growing. In 2017, the American College of Physicians published an evidence-based clinical practice guideline on the use of noninvasive treatments for acute, subacute and chronic low back pain.⁶ This guideline follows a 2011 report by the Institute of Medicine calling for a transformation in how chronic pain is understood and treated, including an emphasis on promoting self-management of pain and tailoring pain care to each individual’s experience.⁷

Given the low risk and low cost of acupressure, and the growing emphasis on non-pharmaceutical approaches for chronic pain, more data on the benefits of acupressure for chronic low back pain are needed to strengthen the evidence on its potential.

References

1. Murphy SL, Harris ER, Keshavarzi NR, et al. Self-administered acupressure for chronic low back pain: A randomized controlled pilot trial. Pain Med. 2019 Dec 1;20(12):2588–2597.
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3. Yang LH, Duan PB, Hou QM, et al. Efficacy of auricular acupressure for chronic low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017;2017:6383649. Epub 2017 Jul 18.
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5. Li LW, Harris RE, Tsodikov A, et al. Self-acupressure for older adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2018 Feb;70(2):221–229.
6. Qaseem A, Wilt TJ, McLean RM, et al. Noninvasive treatments for acute, subacute and chronic low back pain: A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2017 Apr 4;166(7):514–530.
7. Institute of Medicine (U.S.) Committee on Advancing Pain Research, Care and Education. Relieving pain in America: A blueprint for transforming prevention, care, education and research. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press (US); 2011.