Are you tired of managing pain with pills that mask symptoms while your daily movement keeps shrinking?

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Hello and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. I'm Ethan Foster, and today we're

looking at acupuncture as a time-tested drug-free option for chronic low back pain, especially

in older adults. Chronic low back pain affects mobility, independence, and quality of life,

and it's a driver of opioid prescriptions

and misuse. The question is whether a safer approach can deliver lasting relief.

I'm Alara Skye. Acupuncture has been used for centuries, and modern research has steadily

validated its role in managing chronic pain. Since a 1997 National Institutes of Health

Consensus Statement recognized evidence for pain management, clinical trials and guidelines have expanded,

giving you a clearer path to try this therapy with confidence.

A recent large randomized clinical trial, funded through the NIH-H-E-A-L initiative, enrolled

800 adults age 65 and older with chronic low back pain.

Participants were assigned to usual medical care, standard acupuncture, or an enhanced course

with additional sessions.

Standard acupuncture involved 8 to 15 sessions over 12 weeks.

The enhanced plan added four to six sessions in the following 12 weeks.

At both six and 12 months, the acupuncture groups reported greater improvements in pain-related

function than usual care. People walked, bent, and completed daily tasks with less difficulty. Anxiety symptoms fell as

well, and adherence was high, with more than 80% completing the recommended minimum sessions.

...