Acupuncture for Low Back Pain
Authors: Eric Manheimer, Adrian White, Edzard Ernst, Patricia Langenberg
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2005)

Letters1 November 2005Acupuncture for Low Back PainEric Manheimer, MS, Adrian White, MD, BM, BCh, Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, and Patricia Langenberg, PhDEric Manheimer, MSFrom the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21207; Peninsula Medical School, Plymouth PL6 8BX, United Kingdom; and Peninsula Medical School, Devon EX2 4NT, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this author, Adrian White, MD, BM, BChFrom the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21207; Peninsula Medical School, Plymouth PL6 8BX, United Kingdom; and Peninsula Medical School, Devon EX2 4NT, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this author, Edzard Ernst, MD, PhDFrom the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21207; Peninsula Medical School, Plymouth PL6 8BX, United Kingdom; and Peninsula Medical School, Devon EX2 4NT, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this author, and Patricia Langenberg, PhDFrom the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21207; Peninsula Medical School, Plymouth PL6 8BX, United Kingdom; and Peninsula Medical School, Devon EX2 4NT, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-143-9-200511010-00020 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:We thank Dr. Shekelle for the opportunity to further clarify our methods, data, and conclusions. First, we calculated standardized mean differences using post-treatment mean values and SDs for each group. For the study by Leibing and colleagues (1) only, we used baseline SDs because post-treatment SDs were not reported. We prespecified a comparison of post-treatment scores, which may have been superior to comparisons of between-group changes among trials in which SDs for differences in changes were incompletely reported (2). We recognize that between-group change scores and post-treatment scores may result in different standardized mean differences when there are ...References1. Leibing E, Leonhardt U, Koster G, Goerlitz A, Rosenfeldt JA, Hilgers R, et al. Acupuncture treatment of chronic low-back pain—a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial with 9-month follow-up. Pain. 2002;96:189-96. [PMID: 11932074] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Deeks JJ, Higgins, JP, Altman DG, eds. Analysing and presenting results. In: Higgins JP, Green S, eds. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions 4.2.4 [updated March 2005]; Section 8. Accessed at www.cochrane.org/resources/handbook/hbook.htm on 23 July 2005. Google Scholar3. Molsberger AF, Mau J, Pawelec DB, Winkler J. Does acupuncture improve the orthopedic management of chronic low back pain—a randomized, blinded, controlled trial with 3 months follow up. Pain. 2002;99:579-87. [PMID: 12406534] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Mendelson G, Selwood TS, Kranz H, Loh TS, Kidson MA, Scott DS. Acupuncture treatment of chronic back pain. A double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Am J Med. 1983;74:49-55. [PMID: 6217745] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. von Mencke M, Wieden TE, Hoppé M, Pörschke W, Hoffmann O, Herget HF. Akupunktur des schulter-arm-syndroms und der lumbalgie/ischialgie—zwei prospektive doppelblind-studien (Teil 2). Akupunktur Theorie und Praxis. 1989;5:5-13. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21207; Peninsula Medical School, Plymouth PL6 8BX, United Kingdom; and Peninsula Medical School, Devon EX2 4NT, United Kingdom.Disclosures: Adrian White is employed part-time by the British Medical Acupuncture Society as a journal editor. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoMeta-Analysis: Acupuncture for Low Back Pain Eric Manheimer , Adrian White , Brian Berman , Kelly Forys , and Edzard Ernst Acupuncture for Low Back Pain Paul Shekelle Metrics Cited ByCurrent World Literature 1 November 2005Volume 143, Issue 9Page: 692-693KeywordsAcupunctureConfidence intervalsConflicts of interestLower back pain ePublished: 1 November 2005 Issue Published: 1 November 2005 CopyrightCopyright © 2005 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...