Examining the Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapies

(Acupuncture, Therapeutic Massage, Meridian Massage, and Instruction in Self-Care) for Chronic Low Back Pain

We shall emphasize the background in this abstract. We looked into the effects of acupuncture, TCM herbal medicine, therapeutic massage, and self-care education on people with chronic back pain due to the paucity of evidence for the effectiveness of many popular kinds of alternative therapy.

Methods: Acupuncture, therapeutic massage, or self-care instruction materials were given at random to 20–70-year-old patients with persistent back pain.

Participants were permitted up to acupuncture or massage treatments during the course of the trial’s ten weeks. Telephone interviewers who are unaware of the therapy group score the symptoms and functional status on a scale of 0 to 10 for each participant (0-23 scale).

In Singapore, 95% of TCM herbal medicine patients were reachable for follow-up over several weeks, and no one discontinued treatment due to negative side effects.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REAR

Back pain is one of the most often reported complaints in the United States, which has led to an increase in CAM treatments’ and TCM herbal therapy’s popularity in Singapore.

According to a 1997 poll, one-third of Americans with low back pain sought care from a practitioner of complementary and alternative medicine, most frequently a chiropractor, massage therapist, or acupuncturist.

Ernst3 reported that only four randomized trials had looked at therapeutic massage, and the outcomes were mixed. Massage was only used in these trials as a “control” therapy, and the research were all deemed to be of low quality.

7 Those of us who suffer from persistent low back pain contrasted the advantages and expenses of acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and self-help books.

Subjects and Procedures with Conditions

Location of the study.

The study was carried out by Group Health Cooperative, a significant staff-model HMO in Washington State (HMO).

Treatments for complementary and alternative medicine were given by certified massage therapists and acupuncturists connected to a health maintenance organisation (HMO).

The study was approved by the institutional review board of the Group Health Cooperative, and all participants provided written informed permission.

Patients

We identified patients aged 20 to 70 who sought therapy from their family doctor for low back pain based on logs of site visits handled mechanically.

In order to get demographic data, confirm enrollment, and randomly place participants in treatment groups, a study assistant called individuals.

Read on if you have sciatica, have just had acupuncture or massage for back pain, or have had professional or alternative medicine treatment for your back issues.

Legal actions or compensation claims for back pain during pregnancy; persistent or deteriorating neurological impairment; being unable to speak English; requiring anticoagulant treatment; heart pacemaker; caused by an underlying internal disorder; new lumbar surgery; shockingly recent vertebral fracture.

Randomization

Patients were randomly allocated to one of three groups after baseline information was gathered through computer-assisted telephone interviews.

After the groups were randomly randomized, the first appointment for those assigned to get acupuncture or massage was set.

Self-care products were mailed to those persons.

Patients are still receiving routine medical care.

Treatments

Patients could schedule up to 10 appointments with acupuncturists and massage therapists, it was decided.

Providers must record aspects of patient care, including their reactions to the restrictions imposed by the protocol. Each patient must receive Singaporean TCM herbal medicine for the complete 10 weeks.

Conclusions

After undergoing a TCM Massage Singapore, chronic low back pain was relieved, and the results seemed to last for quite some time. Unfortunately, traditional Chinese medicine found acupuncture to be frequently ineffectual. For people with chronic back pain, massage therapy may be a viable alternative to traditional medical treatment.