Pain Management Executive Summary

hospital pain-management clinic specialising in back pain
A viability study for the proposed hiring of a trained acupuncture practitioner
Prepared for:
Pain management clinic specialling in back pain

Prepared by:
Iain McKay
Toowoomba
27 SEPTEMBER 2013
Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is to make argument both for and against acupuncture when treating back pain. Acupuncture is a form of Chinese medicine. Acupuncture involves inserting needles into acupuncture point on the body to heal and treat different conditions.
Their are risk involved with having acupuncture performed as with any medical treatment, but is a small risk when using a trained practitioner. Since 1970’s when western cultures became aware of acupuncture
1.1 Risks involed with acupuncture
With all medical treatment their is a risk involved. In 2010 the World Health Organization commissioned a report into Acupuncture-related adverse events: a systematic review of the Chinese literature. This report found that acupuncture is a safe treatment if done by trained practitioner. But their are still risk and some times even death in a number of cases. The report compares these risk as minor when you compare the number of people who receive acupuncture and the number of injuries. Additionally, there are fewer adverse effects associated with acupuncture than with many standard drug treatments, such as anti-inflammatory medication and steroid injections. The most common problems with acupuncture in the hands of an unskilled practitioner, may lead to a number of problems including:
Allergic reactions – herbs are sometimes burnt over the skin to create specific points of heat near acupuncture points. Herbs are as powerful as pharmaceutical medications and need to be treated with the same respect and
Their have been a number of different studies which show that acupuncture help with the management of back pain. Cherkin’s 2009 trial was divided into four groups all of which still had regular . Group one receiving seven weeks of standardised acupuncture treatment know to be effective in back pain. Group two also had a seven weeks of acupuncture but the treatment was individually prescribed. Group three was treated what a sham acupuncture with piercing the skin. The fourth group received standard medical treatment, including medication and physiotherapy. At the end of the trial 60% of the patients who received acupuncture of some form reported significant improvement, compared to 37% of those who got standard medical