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ISSUE 6 DECEMBER
Letters to the Editor

Acupuncture and low back pain

  • Jeremy Laidman

Letter to the Editor

I was reading the article ‘Managing low back pain in primary care’.1 It included acupuncture as one of the few effective physical therapies. The supporting evidence for this statement was published by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2009. I would like to inform readers that the guidance has been updated. The new guidance states ‘Do not offer acupuncture for managing low back pain with or without sciatica’.2

Jeremy Laidman
Melbourne

 
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References

  1. Maher CG, Williams C, Lin C, Latimer J. Managing low back pain in primary care. Aust Prescr 2011;34:128-32.
  2. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. 1.2 Non-invasive treatments for low back pain and sciatica. In: Low back pain and sciatica in over 16s: assessment and management. NICE Guideline 59. London: NICE; 2016. [cited 2017 Nov 1]
 

The Editorial Executive Committee welcomes letters, which should be less than 250 words. Before a decision to publish is made, letters which refer to a published article may be sent to the author for a response. Any letter may be sent to an expert for comment. When letters are published, they are usually accompanied in the same issue by any responses or comments. The Committee screens out discourteous, inaccurate or libellous statements. The letters are sub-edited before publication. Authors are required to declare any conflicts of interest. The Committee's decision on publication is final. 

Jeremy Laidman

Melbourne, Vic