Study: Real, Fake Acupuncture Aid Back Pain

In a new study, acupuncture made people with back pain feel better. But people who got fake acupuncture also felt better. Researchers said this raises questions about how acupuncture works. The study included 600 people with long-term pain in the lower back. They were divided at random into four groups. One received standard acupuncture. In a second group, acupuncture was adapted to each person. A third group received fake acupuncture. People in this group were poked with a toothpick in a guide tube, rather than a needle. The fourth group received standard care, such as medicine and physical therapy. After seven weeks, all three acupuncture groups felt better than the group that received standard care. HealthDay News wrote about the study May 12. It appeared in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.