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【medical-news】针灸：“背痛的最佳治疗方式”
Acupuncture 'best therapy for back pain'
By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent
Last Updated: 11:55pm BST 24/09/2007
Acupuncture can provide significantly more relief from lower back pain than conventional therapies, scientists say.
The Chinese needle treatment was 74 per cent more likely to lead to a sustained reduction in pain or improved ability to function normally than physiotherapy, medication and advice on exercise, according to German researchers.
However, the study also found "sham acupuncture" — in which needles are applied away from points usually used in traditional Chinese medicine — to be almost as effective, suggesting that the positive effects may have more to do with the way the body deals with pain than with the specific points where the needles are applied.
advertisementDr Michael Haake, of the University of Regensburg in Bad Abbach, whose research was published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, said: "Acupuncture gives physicians a promising and effective treatment option for chronic low back pain, with few adverse effects or contra-indications.
"The improvements in all primary and secondary outcome measures were significant and lasted long after completion of treatment. The superiority of both forms of acupuncture suggests a common underlying mechanism that may act on pain generation, transmission of pain signals or processing of pain signals by the central nervous system."
Dr Haake and colleagues carried out a clinical trial involving 1,162 patients who had experienced chronic low back pain for an average of eight years.
All participants underwent 10 half-hour sessions in five weeks. One group had acupuncture, while another had sham acupuncture.
The final group had conventional therapy consisting of a combination of medication, physical manipulation and exercise.
A successful response was defined as a 33 per cent reduction in pain or a 12 per cent improvement in ability to function normally. Both were assessed using questionnaires.
Six months after the trial was completed, 47.6 per cent of those in the real acupuncture group had responded to their treatment, compared to 44.2 per cent of the sham acupuncture group and 27.4 per cent in the conventional therapy group.
When a patient goes to see their GP about lower back pain in Britain, the doctor will firstly check for serious conditions, such as tumours or rheumatoid arthritis, before providing advice about exercise and the use of painkillers.
If the problem is not resolved within several weeks, patients are sometimes offered manipulation therapies including chiropractic, osteopathy or physiotherapy.
A survey of 2,240 people with back problems carried out by the charity BackCare in 2005 found that of those who had tried acupuncture 30 per cent said it had no effect, 41 per cent believed it provided only temporary relief and 19 per cent said it provided significant, sustained improvements.
Nia Taylor, the chief executive of BackCare, said: "We know from talking to patients that they are often dissatisfied with the attention they receive from their GPs. So-called alternative therapies such as acupuncture often provide longer consultation periods, and that in itself can be beneficial."
The NHS spends more than £1 billion per year on back pain, including £512?million for hospital treatment, £141 for GP consultations and £150 million on physiotherapy. 本人已认领该文编译，48小时后若未提交译文，请其他战友自由认领。 认领该文编译。 科学家称，与常规疗法治疗低位背痛相比，针灸疗效更显著。
德国的研究者认为，中医针灸疗法可使疼痛持续性减轻，或者促进正常功能恢复,比理疗、药疗、锻炼要高出74％。
但是，该研究也发现假的针灸，即针远离于传统中医针灸的部位，几乎同样有效，表明针灸对身体疼痛治疗的影响不仅仅是针灸所在的点。
位于巴特阿巴赫的雷根斯堡大学的Michael Haake博士，他的研究发表于the journal Archives of Internal Medicine上说，“针灸能给内科医生提供一个有希望和有效的治疗选择，对慢性低位背痛，副作用和禁忌症少。
在针灸治疗完成后,直接或间接的结果衡量中，（正常功能）改善显著，疼痛缓解持续时间长。两种类型针灸的优点表明一个共同的潜在机制，即针灸作用于疼痛产生、疼痛传递以及中枢神经系统对疼痛信号的处理。
Haake博士和他的同事通过开展了一1162病例的临床试验，这些患者平均有8年慢性下背部疼痛病史。
所有参与者在五周内给予10次治疗，每次半个小时，一组给予针灸，另一组给予假针灸。
最后一组给予常规疗法，包括药物、理疗和锻炼等综合疗法。
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-07-09 12:01
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