Ear acupuncture reduces back pain in pregnant
A special technique of acupuncture relieves back and pelvis pain in pregnancy.
According to a new study, women who had needles for a week of sustained pressure with tape on three acupuncture points of the ears were more likely to experience a significant reduction in pain in the lower back and pelvis that a group treated with needle points placed in “fake” or a control group that received no real treatment or placebo acupuncture.
Pregnant women suffer from pain in the lower back and pelvis, which can trigger chronic pain future, writes in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology team Shu-Ming Wang of Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. Acupuncture in ear, said the team would be a tool, without drugs to relieve pain in these women.
By chance, the authors divided 159 women between weeks 25 and 38 of gestation into three groups: one received real acupuncture, the other acupuncture points that theoretically will not alleviate the pain in the pelvis or lower back, and the third formed the control group.
Each woman also learned self-care measures such as rest, take acetaminophen and use warm and cold compresses.
The 152 women who completed the two-week study reported feeling reduced pain and increased ability to perform daily activities.
The reduction of 30 percent or more of pain reported in 81 percent of the group treated with acupuncture, 59 percent of the group treated with sham acupuncture and 47 percent of the control group. The difference between the last two was not significant.
The 37 percent of the acupuncture treated group was still sore a week after receiving acupuncture, compared to about 22 percent of sham acupuncture treated group and 9 percent of the control group.
The improvement in daily activities was significantly higher in women who received acupuncture in the groups treated with the wrong version or no acupuncture treatment. But in some women the relief of pain disappeared.
A week after the completion of the acupuncture sessions, 68 percent treated with therapy continued to enjoy that real reduction of 30 percent or more pain compared with the start of treatment, while 32 percent of the treated group sham acupuncture and 18 percent of the control group maintained the same level of pain reduction.
No significant difference between groups in the proportion of participants with no pain during the two week study.
The only adverse effect was transient sensitivity in the ear, as mentioned 1 woman treated with real acupuncture and 3 members of the group treated with the fake version.
The treatment, said the team is cheap (17-20 dollars for a pack of 100 needles) and the placement of needles demand three minutes in experienced hands.
The team believes that future studies should explore whether the continued use of acupuncture in the ear provides a sustained effect, and determine the characteristics of patients who respond to therapy or not.
In addition, larger studies are needed to determine whether treatment somehow affects pregnancy.