A major new study has provided strong evidence that acupuncture can significantly ease chronic back pain, with benefits lasting for up to a year. The therapy, which involves the painless insertion of hair-fine needles at specific points on the skin, was rigorously trialled in older adults suffering from long-term lower back problems. Participants who received a full course of acupuncture sessions reported less pain and disability compared to those who relied solely on standard medical care, and these improvements were still measurable 12 months later.

Chronic back pain is recognized as the world's leading cause of disability, with its prevalence increasing with age. In Britain alone, it accounts for millions of GP appointments annually, and musculoskeletal issues, including back pain, constitute nearly a third of all general practitioner consultations. Traditional treatments often involve painkillers, spinal injections, or surgery. However, pharmacological interventions frequently offer only modest relief and, particularly in older individuals, can lead to serious side-effects such as stomach bleeds, confusion, and even addiction.

Published in JAMA Network Open, the new research was led by Kaiser Permanente in Oregon and conducted across four major US health systems. It involved over 50 licensed acupuncturists and aimed to provide robust data on acupuncture's efficacy, especially in the over-65s, where evidence had previously been patchy despite its recommendation in US and UK clinical guidelines for long-term back pain management.

The study assigned patients to three distinct groups: one received 'usual medical care' (GP visits, painkillers, physiotherapy, potentially injections or surgery); another received a standard course of acupuncture (8 to 15 sessions over 12 weeks) in addition to usual care; and the third group received the standard course followed by four to six 'maintenance' sessions over the subsequent 12 weeks. At the six-month mark, both acupuncture groups demonstrated significantly greater improvements in back pain-related disability scores compared to the usual care group.

On a 24-point scale measuring how pain restricts daily life, acupuncture patients showed an average improvement of 1.0 to 1.5 points. Researchers emphasized that this difference is 'clinically important, congruent with or larger than effects reported for other pain-related treatments, and shows more sustained benefit and substantially lower adverse effects than pharmacotherapy.' Furthermore, almost half of the acupuncture recipients experienced at least a 30 percent improvement in symptoms, a stark contrast to just three in ten in the usual care group.

Crucially, these benefits proved to be long-lasting, remaining evident a year after the initial course of acupuncture commenced, even without continued treatment. While adding maintenance sessions offered a slight additional benefit to pain ratings, it made little difference to overall disability. Patients also reported an overall feeling of improvement and showed signs of reduced anxiety with acupuncture compared to standard care.

Safety was a paramount finding of the study. Serious adverse events were rare and occurred at similar rates across all groups, with only one instance (a leg infection) possibly linked to acupuncture. Minor issues, such as brief soreness at the needle site, affected fewer than one in ten patients. Researchers noted that these results align with earlier trials in mixed-age adults, suggesting the therapy's potential utility across all age groups. Given the growing concerns about drug side-effects in an aging population, the authors conclude that acupuncture offers a safe, accessible, and non-pharmacological alternative for chronic back pain management, especially relevant for informing future Medicare funding decisions.