Alternative Medicine Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Alternative Medicine, including details on complementary medicine, alternative therapies, homeopathy.

Complementary therapies for back pain: is the evidence getting stronger?

Ernst E, Pittler MH, Wider B, Boddy K

Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, 25 Victoria Park Road, Exeter, EX2 4NT, UK. Edzard.Ernst@pms.ac.uk

Back pain is the most common reason for using complementary therapies. This analysis of the trial evidence is aimed at determining whether the evidence base for or against complementary therapies for back pain is getting stronger. Two series of systematic reviews conducted with the same methodology 5 years apart were compared. The results suggest that the weight of the evidence has increased between 2000 and 2005 for a number of interventions. The direction of the evidence, however, remained unchanged for all but one therapy. We conclude that the value of complementary therapies in the management of back pain remains encouraging but not fully convincing.

Published 3 April 2007 in Clin Rheumatol, 26(5): 736-8.
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