Can Acupuncture Prevent Lower Back Surgery?

Every patient seeking acupuncture encounters the treatment for different reasons.

Whether it's to improve your overall sense of well being or to treat a highly specific problem, its one of the least invasive and most natural ways to help combat physical, mental and emotional ailments.

One of the most common reasons acupuncture is sought after is back pain, and it's no surprise —  7 out of 10 Americans complaining of suffering from the condition at some point in their lives. But aside from helping to alleviate the pain, can it help to prevent the need for surgery down the line?  It's possible.

According to Medical News Bulletin, a Korean study went on to show that when compared with patients who sought acupuncture treatment, those who did not had a higher likelihood of needing surgery. 

The results suggested two possible reasons: acupuncture is effective at managing low back pain thereby decreasing the need for any lumbar surgery, and that the combination of both traditional and conventional medicine in Korea decreases the need for surgery.  It is also noted that study participants in the group that received acupuncture were,  "far more likely to receive other types of therapy too than those patients in the group that did not receive acupuncture: they received only conventional medicine treatments."

While additional studies are needed to confirm if acupuncture has the same effect when patients with low back pain of similar severity are compared (the researchers didn't know the level of severity for each patient) the results are quite favorable.

Once again, the potential and power of acupuncture is evident, and the benefits of seeking holistic and natural treatments prior to undergoing any severe or invasive procedures are so important to know.