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Structured Abstract
Background:
Back and neck pain are important health problems with serious societal and economic implications. Conventional treatments have been shown to have limited benefit in improving patient outcomes. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies offer additional options in the management of low back and neck pain. Many trials evaluating CAM therapies have poor quality and inconsistent results.
Objectives:
To systematically review the efficacy, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and harms of acupuncture, spinal manipulation, mobilization, and massage techniques in management of back, neck, and/or thoracic pain.
Data Sources:
MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, and EMBASE were searched up to 2010; unpublished literature and reference lists of relevant articles were also searched.
Study Selection:
All records were screened by two independent reviewers. Primary reports of comparative efficacy, effectiveness, harms, and/or economic evaluations from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the CAM therapies in adults (age ≥ 18 years) with back, neck, or thoracic pain were eligible. Non-randomized controlled trials and observational studies (case‐control, cohort, cross-sectional) comparing harms were also included. Reviews, case reports, editorials, commentaries or letters were excluded.
Data Extraction:
Two independent reviewers using a predefined form extracted data on study, participants, treatments, and outcome characteristics.
Data Analysis:
Included studies were stratified by the region, cause, and duration of pain. Evidence was summarized qualitatively and RCTs were pooled according to the post-treatment followup at which the outcomes were measured. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were planned a priori. Publication bias was examined through visual inspection of funnel plot and a regression-based method.
Results:
265 RCTs and 5 non-RCTs were included. Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain was associated with significantly lower pain intensity than placebo but only immediately post-treatment (VAS: -0.59, 95 percent CI: -0.93, -0.25). However, acupuncture was not different from placebo in post-treatment disability, pain medication intake, or global improvement in chronic nonspecific low back pain. Acupuncture did not differ from sham-acupuncture in reducing chronic non-specific neck pain immediately after treatment (VAS: ‐0.24, 95 percent CI: -1.20, 0.73). Acupuncture was superior to no treatment in improving pain intensity (VAS: -1.19, 95 percent CI: 95 percent CI: -2.17, -0.21), disability (PDI), functioning (HFAQ), well-being (SF-36), and range of mobility (extension, flexion), immediately after the treatment. In general, trials that applied sham-acupuncture tended to produce negative results (i.e., statistically non-significant) compared to trials that applied other types of placebo (e.g., TENS, medication, laser). Results regarding comparisons with other active treatments (pain medication, mobilization, laser therapy) were less consistent Acupuncture was more cost-effective compared to usual care or no treatment for patients with chronic back pain.
For both low back and neck pain, manipulation was significantly better than placebo or no treatment in reducing pain immediately or short-term after the end of treatment. Manipulation was also better than acupuncture in improving pain and function in chronic nonspecific low back pain. Results from studies comparing manipulation to massage, medication, or physiotherapy were inconsistent, either in favor of manipulation or indicating no significant difference between the two treatments. Findings of studies regarding costs of manipulation relative to other therapies were inconsistent.
Mobilization was superior to no treatment but not different from placebo in reducing low back pain or spinal flexibility after the treatment. Mobilization was better than physiotherapy in reducing low back pain (VAS: -0.50, 95 percent CI: -0.70, -0.30) and disability (Oswestry: -4.93, 95 percent CI: -5.91, -3.96). In subjects with acute or subacute neck pain, mobilization compared to placebo significantly reduced neck pain. Mobilization and placebo did not differ in subjects with chronic neck pain.
Massage was superior to placebo or no treatment in reducing pain and disability only amongst subjects with acute/sub-acute low back pain. Massage was also significantly better than physical therapy in improving back pain (VAS: -2.11, 95 percent CI: -3.15, -1.07) or disability. For subjects with neck pain, massage was better than no treatment, placebo, or exercise in improving pain or disability, but not neck flexibility. Some evidence indicated higher costs for massage use compared to general practitioner care for low back pain.
Reporting of harms in RCTs was poor and inconsistent. Subjects receiving CAM therapies reported soreness or bleeding on the site of application after acupuncture and worsening of pain after manipulation or massage. In two case-control studies cervical manipulation was shown to be significantly associated with vertebral artery dissection or vertebrobasilar vascular accident.
Conclusions:
Evidence was of poor to moderate grade and most of it pertained to chronic nonspecific pain, making it difficult to draw more definitive conclusions regarding benefits and harms of CAM therapies in subjects with acute/subacute, mixed, or unknown duration of pain. The benefit of CAM treatments was mostly evident immediately or shortly after the end of the treatment and then faded with time. Very few studies reported long-term outcomes. There was insufficient data to explore subgroup effects. The trial results were inconsistent due probably to methodological and clinical diversity, thereby limiting the extent of quantitative synthesis and complicating interpretation of trial results. Strong efforts are warranted to improve the conduct methodology and reporting quality of primary studies of CAM therapies. Future well powered head to head comparisons of CAM treatments and trials comparing CAM to widely used active treatments that report on all clinically relevant outcomes are needed to draw better conclusions.
Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Executive Summary
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Methods
- 3. Results
- Literature Search Results
- General Characteristics of the Included Studies
- KQ1 What is the Efficacy, Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of the Most Prevalent Types of Practitioner-based Manual CAM Therapies Compared to Other CAM Therapies, Conventional Therapies, Placebo, no Treatment, or Wait List in Improving Outcomes in Patients With Nonspecific and Certain Specific Types of Back and Neck Pain?
- KQ1a-b For any of the CAM Therapies Found to be Effective for Back Pain, what Patient, Treatment Provider and Trial Specific Factors Influence Success of Treatments?
- KQ1c Does the Use of any of the Three Most Prevalent Types of CAM for Back Pain in Adults Result in a Decreased or Increased Utilization of Conventional Management?
- KQ2 What are the Contraindications and Safety Profile of the Three Most Prevalent CAM Therapies for Back Pain in Adults Compared to That for Other CAM Therapies, Conventional Therapies, Placebo or no Treatment? Does the Safety Profile of These Therapies Change Across Subgroups of Patients With Comorbidities?
- 4. Discussion
- References and Included Studies
- Appendixes
- Appendix A Exact Search Strings
- Appendix B Sample Data Abstraction Forms
- Appendix C Evidence Tables
- Appendix D List of Excluded Studies
- Appendix E Peer Reviewers & Technical Expert Panel
- Appendix F Quality Assessment Forms
- Appendix G Quality Assessment Data
- Appendix H Unobtained Articles
- Appendix I Summary Tables
University of Ottawa Evidence-based Practice Center Director: David Moher, Ph.D.
Prepared for: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services1, Contract No. 290-2007-10059-I (EPCIII). Prepared by: University of Ottawa Evidence-based Practice Center, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Suggested citation:
Furlan A, Yazdi F, Tsertsvadze A, Gross A, Van Tulder, M, Santaguida L, Cherkin D, Gagnier J, Ammendolia C, Ansari M, Ostermann T, Dryden T, Doucette S, Skidmore B, Daniel R, Tsouros S, Weeks L, Galipeau J. Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Back Pain II. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 194. (Prepared by the University of Ottawa Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No. 290-2007-10059-I (EPCIII). AHRQ Publication No. 10(11)-E007. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. October 2010.
This report is based on research conducted by the University of Ottawa Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) under contract to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Rockville, MD (Contract No. 290-2007-10059-I (EPCIII)). The findings and conclusions in this document are those of the author(s), who are responsible for its content, and do not necessarily represent the views of AHRQ. No statement in this report should be construed as an official position of AHRQ or of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The information in this report is intended to help clinicians, employers, policymakers, and others make informed decisions about the provision of health care services. This report is intended as a reference and not as a substitute for clinical judgment.
This report may be used, in whole or in part, as the basis for the development of clinical practice guidelines and other quality enhancement tools, or as a basis for reimbursement and coverage policies. AHRQ or U.S. Department of Health and Human Services endorsement of such derivative products may not be stated or implied.
No investigators have any affiliations or financial involvement (e.g., employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties) that conflict with material presented in this report.
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- Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Back Pain IIComplementary and Alternative Therapies for Back Pain II
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