Auriculotherapy on low back pain in the elderly.

The objective of the study was to examine the effectiveness of auriculotherapy using magnetic pellets for the elderly suffering from low back pain (LBP). Sixty participants who were 60-years old or above and had been suffering from LBP were recruited. Participants were randomly allocated to receive auriculotherapy on a 3-week basis using either Semen Vaccariae (control group=30) or magnetic pellets (experimental group=30). Seven auricular acupoints that are believed to have an effect on LBP were selected. Treatment effects were evaluated using the Chinese Pain Intensity Verbal Rating scale (VRS). The experimental group had indeed experienced a significant improvement in pain relief when compared with the control group; and the therapeutic effects were sustained at 2 and 4-week follow-up periods after the therapy. Findings of this study demonstrated that auriculotherapy using magnetic pellets significantly reduce the pain intensity level of the elderly suffering from non-specific LBP.