Características de la acupuntura estandarizada como tratamiento de lumbalgía crónica en Cuenca 2015

Abstract

Background. - Chronic low back pain is a common cause of medical consultation and absenteeism; there are several pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures to relieve it, where acupuncture, art belonging to Chinese medicine, is a treatment option for improving pain. Objective. - To determine the characteristics of standardized acupuncture as a treatment for chronic low back pain in Cuenca. Methodology. - A descriptive study was conducted in an unknown population of patients with chronic back pain who were treated with standardized acupuncture. The sample was not probabilistic for convenience. Data were collected using a validated and analyzed in SPSS software v22.0 form. Pain intensity was assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS) and functional limitation by the Oswestry disability index (ODI). Results. – In total, 64 patients participated in this study. The age ranged between 20 and 82 years. 62.5% were women, 95.31% live in urban areas, 59.3% attended by postural causes. Patients were treated with acupuncture standardized reduced EVA (7.41 versus 2.77 in 3 months) comparing the before and after treatment. 54.7% reduction was obtained using the functional limitation ODI before and after treatment. There were statistically significant difference between patients who underwent the treatment and reduction of back pain disability by McNemar test (p <0.0001). Conclusions. - Standardized acupuncture is a valid treatment to relieve chronic back pain.