Efficacy of acupressure for chronic low back pain: A systematic review

Abstract

Objective: Establish the utility of acupressure for chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Design: A systematic review of English articles using PubMed and Embase was conducted from 01/2004-01/2020. Search terms included: "acupressure" and "chronic pain" or "low back pain". Articles included were randomized control trials evaluating acupressure in adult patients with CLBP.

Results: 150 studies met initial criteria; 6 were included (n = 468). The average total treatment length was 4 weeks. The main treatment outcomes were changes in pain, disability, and sleep. All studies found a clinically significant reduction (, ≥30% decrease) in pain for the treatment groups. All studies found a clinically significant and/or statistically significant improvement in disability in at least one of the treatment groups. All studies found a statistically significant improvement in sleep. No study found significant adverse events.

Conclusion: Acupressure is a feasible, effective, safe, low cost nonpharmacologic method to treat CLBP.

Keywords: Acupressure; Chronic low back pain; Chronic pain; Complementary alternative medicine.