Acupuncture and Chronic Pain

Doctors struggle to manage the most common patient complaint: chronic back pain. Since the 1990’s, opioids have become the standard of care in treating chronic pain. In 2012, health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid pain medication, enough for every adult in the US to have a bottle of pills. Unfortunately, opioids are dangerous and hardly reduce chronic pain levels. Acupuncture is safer and more effective in treating chronic pain, and should be promoted as the first line standard of care.

Between 1999 and 2012, the CDC estimates there was a 300% increase in overdose deaths related to opioids. Researchers are finding and now reporting the negative effects of opioids consistently outweigh the positive. Common side effects from opioids include sedation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, addiction, tolerance, respiratory depression, and death.

Opioids are not associated with notable pain reduction for chronic pain. Pain relief from opioid therapy is short-lived, and lasting improvements in pain are minimal. NSAIDs are proven to be more effective than opioids in treating chronic back pain, but consistent ingested use of NSAIDs have their own side effects. As many as 25% of chronic NSAID users will develop or suffer from ulcers or similar digestive ailments.

Chronic pain affects anywhere between 10-40% of the population. Considering the gross mismanagement of prescription analgesics, there is a need for safer, more effective strategies to manage chronic pain conditions. Studies show that acupuncture is effective in treating back pain, and 40-50% of patients receiving acupuncture experience a reduction of pain along with improved functional status. Studies clearly demonstrate that clinical acupuncture is superior to groups not receiving acupuncture in cases of pain or disability from musculoskeletal disorders.

The American College of Physicians and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health also consider acupuncture to be an important noninvasive treatment for addressing back pain. The American College of Physicians has stated that non-pharmacologic treatments, like acupuncture, should be the first line standard of care for individuals with chronic back pain. Acupuncture is a safe and effective alternative to opioid analgesics and can play a large role in the treatment of pain. 

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Written By Jennifer Peterson, MSOM, LAc