Older Americans who used acupuncture to treat chronic low back pain saw greater improvement in their physical function than those who stuck to medications and physical therapy, a new National Institutes of Health study found .

According to the NIH, chronic low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide and affects more than a third of older adults in the United States. The study shows an urgent need for safe, effective, and non-addictive pain management approaches, researchers said.

How acupuncture helps low back pain

The clinical trial, called BackInAction, included 800 participants, with results based on self-reported pain assessments following treatment that either included or omitted acupuncture.

Researchers looked at whether manual acupuncture needling, which is co

See Full Page