CHIROPRACTIC AND ACUPUNCTURE: UNORTHODOX TREATMENTS OF

PAIN

We are much more afraid of risks when uncertainty is high and less afraid when we know
more, whick explains why we meet many new techonologies with high initial concern
(Ropeik & Gray, 2002. Pp. 15-18). This statement could very well be transferred to the
situation that this essay proposes to analyze. We propose a contrasted analyze about the
public perception of chiropractic and acupuncture medicine, and how this perception can be
far distant from the facts that the current state of knowledge on the matter has concluded.
The medicine has been historically a very complicated field of knowledges.
since the birth of science , verification systems of knowledge have been established around
strict criteria , under which are evaluated in detail the processes that led to the recurrence of
a result so that they can be scientifically validatable, to consequently, be considered as
knowledge under western standards. However, rising disciplines, mostly from Eastern
origins, has been questioning this orthodox tradition of medicine, taking into account
spiritual and non-material aspects, that are normally excluded from western traditional
medicine. Surprinsingly, the results of this alternatives ways of treating pain has been
documented on western scientific publication, leading to some interesting conclussions.
For example, a study comparing the satisfaction of low back pain patients randomized to
receive medical or chiropractic care, made by the University of California, concluded that
patients that received chiropractic treatment, were ultimately more satisfies that the ones
that received medical treatment. In this randomized trial, chiropractic patients were more
satisfied with their back care providers after 4 weeks of treatment than were medical
patients. Although similar resuits have been reported by others,4-9 those investigators did
not examine the role of other factors in explaining this satisfaction gap (Hertzman-Miller
et al., 2002).
On this same problem, another study analyzed the effectiveness of acunpuncture on a
randomize group of patient that suffered from chhronical low back pain. The results were
also surprising, offering substantial decreases on pain intensity for the patient that were
selected for the acupuncture treatment. A total of 298 patients were included. Between
baseline and week 8, pain intensity decreased by a meanSD of 28.730.3 mm in
the acupuncture group, 23.631.0 mm in the minimal acupuncture group, and 6.922.0 mm
in the waiting list group. The difference for the acupuncture vs minimal acupuncture group
was 5.1 and the difference for the acupuncture vs waiting list group was 21.7 mm
(Brinkhaus, 2006).
The results are controversial, and many important medical authorities, as well as patient
and public in general, still denies this alternative medicine any validity. This could be that
very initial concern that any innovation comes with. Or could be a clear sign of the failures
of the western scientific standards, in which many important aspects are excluded for being

incompatible with the western knowledge philosophy. In any case, the studies has been
feeding the debate that now is far from over.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Ropeik, D. and Gray, G. (2002). Risk. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Hertzman-Miller, R., Morgenstern, H., Hurwitz, E., Yu, F., Adams, A.,
Harber, P. and Kominski, G. (2002). Comparing the Satisfaction of Low
Back Pain Patients Randomized to Receive Medical or Chiropractic Care:
Results From the UCLA Low-Back Pain Study. Am J Public Health, 92(10),
pp.1628-1633.
Brinkhaus, B. (2006). Acupuncture in Patients With Chronic Low Back
Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Archives of Internal Medicine,
166(4), pp.450-457.