Acupuncture Research Library
Every study we cite, in one place — meta-analyses, Cochrane reviews, and clinical guidelines, summarized in plain language and linked to the original source.
4 Studies Indexed
The Research Behind Our Care
This library collects every scientific study cited across our condition pages. Each entry is verified against PubMed, graded by study type, and summarized in plain language — including where the evidence is strong and where it is limited. We summarize the research as it stands; we don’t cherry-pick.
Each study links to the condition pages that cite it, so you can see the evidence in the context of the care it informs.
Curated and reviewed by Dr. Matthew Winke, DACM · Updated
Cochrane Review
Cochrane Systematic Review — Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain
Compared with no treatment, acupuncture produced clinically relevant pain relief (moderate-certainty evidence), and compared with usual care it improved function and quality of life. Differences versus sham acupuncture were smaller and fell below the review’s threshold for clinical importance.
Mu J, et al. Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;12:CD013814. View on PubMed →
Meta-Analysis
Acupuncture for Chronic Pain — 39 trials, 20,827 patients
Across 39 high-quality randomized trials, acupuncture was superior to both sham acupuncture and no-acupuncture controls for chronic back and neck pain. Treatment effects persisted over time and could not be explained by placebo alone.
Vickers AJ, et al. Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis. J Pain. 2018;19(5):455-474. View on PubMed →
Clinical Guideline
American College of Physicians — Low Back Pain Guideline
The ACP recommends acupuncture as a first-line, non-drug treatment for chronic low back pain — to be tried before medication — and as a treatment option for acute low back pain.
Qaseem A, et al. Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2017;166(7):514-530. View on PubMed →
Randomized Trial
GERAC Trial — 1,162 patients, one of the largest back-pain RCTs
After 6 months, 47.6% of acupuncture patients met the response criteria versus 27.4% receiving guideline-based conventional care (medication, physical therapy, and exercise) — nearly double the response rate.
Haake M, et al. German Acupuncture Trials (GERAC) for Chronic Low Back Pain. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(17):1892-1898. View on PubMed →
These summaries are educational and describe published research; they are not medical advice and not a guarantee of individual results. This library grows as we publish new condition pages.
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