Chronic pain is a major medical issue faced by many of our patients. And with the opioid epidemic, we’re in greater need of more nonpharmacologic interventions. Acupuncture has emerged as a viable complementary treatment to conventional pain management.

An analysis of 29 higher-quality trials with almost 18,000 patients was presented at the Academy of Integrative Pain Management meeting. Acupuncture was statistically superior to both sham acupuncture and non-acupuncture for neck and lower back pain, osteoarthritis of the knee, and chronic headache. Finding alternative therapies for pain, like acupuncture, is important, especially given our aging population. [1]

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