Are there any other treatments for chronic low back pain?

    Last Updated: October 25, 2023

    Chronic low back pain can be stubborn and difficult to treat. Numerous alternative treatments have been tested in randomized controlled trials, with varying degrees of success. Additional treatments include:

    • Spinal cord stimulation[1]
    • Cerebral or peripheral electrical brain stimulation[2][3]
    • Interferential current electrotherapy, a type of electrical muscle stimulation used to treat chronic pain[4]
    • Botulinum toxin[5]

    Various complementary health, mind, and body interventions are also sometimes used to treat chronic low back pain, including:

    • Acupuncture[6]
    • Tai chi[7][8]
    • Yoga [9]
    • TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)[10]
    • Massage therapy[11]
    • Biofeedback[12]
    • Dry needling[13]
    • Cupping[14]
    • Low-level laser therapy[15]
    • Mindfulness-based stress reduction[16]
    • Spinal manipulation[17][9]
    • Prolotherapy[18]
    • Myofascial release[19]

    References

    1. ^Rigoard P, Delmotte A, D'Houtaud S, Misbert L, Diallo B, Roy-Moreau A, Durand S, Royoux S, Giot JP, Bataille BBack pain: a real target for spinal cord stimulation?Neurosurgery.(2012-Mar)
    2. ^Hazime FA, de Freitas DG, Monteiro RL, Maretto RL, Carvalho NA, Hasue RH, João SMAnalgesic efficacy of cerebral and peripheral electrical stimulation in chronic nonspecific low back pain: a randomized, double-blind, factorial clinical trial.BMC Musculoskelet Disord.(2015-Jan-31)
    3. ^Luedtke K, Rushton A, Wright C, Juergens TP, Mueller G, May AEffectiveness of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with chronic low back pain: design, method and protocol for a randomised controlled trial.BMC Musculoskelet Disord.(2011-Dec-28)
    4. ^Albornoz-Cabello M, Maya-Martín J, Domínguez-Maldonado G, Espejo-Antúnez L, Heredia-Rizo AMEffect of interferential current therapy on pain perception and disability level in subjects with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.Clin Rehabil.(2017-Feb)
    5. ^Ney JP, Difazio M, Sichani A, Monacci W, Foster L, Jabbari BTreatment of chronic low back pain with successive injections of botulinum toxin a over 6 months: a prospective trial of 60 patients.Clin J Pain.(2006-May)
    6. ^Ernst EAcupuncture--a critical analysis.J Intern Med.(2006-Feb)
    7. ^Jahnke R, Larkey L, Rogers C, Etnier J, Lin FA comprehensive review of health benefits of qigong and tai chi.Am J Health Promot.(2010)
    8. ^Qin J, Zhang Y, Wu L, He Z, Huang J, Tao J, Chen LEffect of Tai Chi alone or as additional therapy on low back pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Medicine (Baltimore).(2019-Sep)
    9. ^Gert Bronfort, Mitch Haas, Roni Evans, Greg Kawchuk, Simon DagenaisEvidence-informed management of chronic low back pain with spinal manipulation and mobilizationSpine J.(2008 Jan-Feb)
    10. ^Gibson W, Wand BM, Meads C, Catley MJ, O'Connell NETranscutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for chronic pain - an overview of Cochrane Reviews.Cochrane Database Syst Rev.(2019-Feb-19)
    11. ^Andrea D Furlan, Mario Giraldo, Amanda Baskwill, Emma Irvin, Marta ImamuraMassage for low-back painCochrane Database Syst Rev.(2015 Sep 1)
    12. ^Sielski R, Rief W, Glombiewski JAEfficacy of Biofeedback in Chronic back Pain: a Meta-Analysis.Int J Behav Med.(2017-Feb)
    13. ^Hu HT, Gao H, Ma RJ, Zhao XF, Tian HF, Li LIs dry needling effective for low back pain?: A systematic review and PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis.Medicine (Baltimore).(2018-Jun)
    14. ^Moura CC, Chaves ÉCL, Cardoso ACLR, Nogueira DA, Corrêa HP, Chianca TCMCupping therapy and chronic back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis.Rev Lat Am Enfermagem.(2018-Nov-14)
    15. ^Glazov G, Yelland M, Emery JLow-level laser therapy for chronic non-specific low back pain: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Acupunct Med.(2016-Oct)
    16. ^Creswell JDMindfulness Interventions.Annu Rev Psychol.(2017-Jan-03)
    17. ^Hebert JJ, Stomski NJ, French SD, Rubinstein SMSerious Adverse Events and Spinal Manipulative Therapy of the Low Back Region: A Systematic Review of Cases.J Manipulative Physiol Ther.(2015)
    18. ^Dagenais S, Yelland MJ, Del Mar C, Schoene MLProlotherapy injections for chronic low-back pain.Cochrane Database Syst Rev.(2007-Apr-18)
    19. ^Wu Z, Wang Y, Ye X, Chen Z, Zhou R, Ye Z, Huang J, Zhu Y, Chen G, Xu XMyofascial Release for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Front Med (Lausanne).(2021)