It’s true that many people try Chinese medicine (acupuncture, herbs, cupping, gua sha…) as a last resort. Acupuncturists often hear, “I’ve tried everything else, but nothing worked, so I guess I’ll give acupuncture a try. I have nothing to lose.” What if acupuncture (which includes cupping, gua sha, moxa, massage) was the first thing people tried, not only for treatment of illness, disease, or injury, but also as preventative care?
Research has shown that acupuncture is cost-effective when compared to other treatment modalities.1,2,3 In many cases, you can save yourself time and money if acupuncture is used as first-line therapy.1,2,3 Using acupuncture, it costs less money to produce a favorable clinical outcome. That means it is clinically effective!
Data presented by Optum insurance in 2018 showed the percentage of non-surgical low back pain patients for whom specialists (38.3%), chiropractors/physical therapists/acupuncturists (31.3%), or primary care physicians (30.4%) as their first provider seen. The total episode cost was lowest for patients who saw chiropractors, physical therapists, or acupuncturists first ($619), next for primary care physician visits ($728), and highest for those who sought specialist care first ($1728). In summary, non-surgical low back pain patients who see conservative integrative care providers first spend less/cost the system less overall than patients who see primary care physicians or specialists as their first line of care. This data demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of conservative care such as chiropractic, physical therapy, and acupuncture (1).
Woods and colleagues (2017) performed a cost-benefit analysis of the following therapies: “acupuncture, braces, heat treatment, insoles, interferential therapy, laser/light therapy, manual therapy, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, pulsed electrical stimulation, pulsed electromagnetic fields, static magnets and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)” in order to best assist medical commission boards’ future decision-making and prioritization for optimal healthcare outcomes. Researchers performed a systematic review of available randomized controlled trials. They selected 88 studies, including 7,507 participants, for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The analysis included all trials and a separate analysis only included trials with “low risk of selection bias.” TENS emerged as the most cost-effective per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) when all studies were considered; when studies were limited to those with low risk of selection bias, acupuncture emerged as the most cost-effective versus TENS. Researchers noted that effectiveness varied among interventions based on intensity modulation (2).
In Fan and colleague’s white paper, Acupuncture vs Opioid Use for Pain, they begin, “Acupuncture can address the national opioid epidemic as a medically effective, evidence-based, safe, cost-effective, non-pharmacological pain-management intervention.” They postulate (accurately) that there is a great deal of evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating pain conditions and (also accurately) that biomedical science has evidence to support how acupuncture works from a physiological perspective. (Thank you, Helen Langevin, colleagues, and associates!) Acupuncture is a lower-cost alternative to opioids that can prevent “addiction to opioids that requires costly care, destroys quality of life, and can lead to fatal overdose.” It’s no wonder that regulatory agencies advise and in some cases mandate the use of nonpharmacologic interventions, of which acupuncture is the “most evidence-based, immediately available choice.” The authors support incorporation of acupuncture into hospital settings to deal with pain conditions, and cite successes of the Veterans Administration’s and the U.S. Military’s in incorporating acupuncture into their health and wellness programs (3).
Acupuncture and associated modalities have also been known since ancient times as some of the best methods of prevention for overall wellness and longevity! If you’ve never tried them, please consider doing so! If you’ve tried them but only sporadically, commit to a treatment plan of 1-2x/week for at least 6-8 weeks, and notice the difference in how you feel. If you’re already a regular, you know what I’m saying is true.
Whatever your current relationship to self-care, you are exactly where you are meant to be on this profound ride we call life. Thank you for being here, friend. May your journey bring you ease.
Abundant flow of all good things to you!
References
Elton D (Optum Insurance). The National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine. Session 3 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQO5CsuzfRM. Published Dec 7, 2018. Accessed January 22, 2022.
Woods B, Manca A, Weatherly H, Saramago P, Sideris E, Giannopoulou C, Rice S, Corbett M, Vickers A, Bowes M, MacPherson H, Sculpher M. Cost-effectiveness of adjunct non- pharmacological interventions for osteoarthritis of the knee. PLOS ONE. March 7, 2017; :1-18. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0172749
Fan Y, Miller DW, Bolash B, Bauer M, McDonald J, Faggert S, He H, Ming Y, Matecki A, Camardella L, Koppelman ML, Stone JAM, Meade L, Pang J. Acupuncture’s role in solving the opioid epidemic: Evidence, cost-effectiveness, and care availability for acupuncture as a primary, non-pharmacologic method for pain relief and management - white paper 2017. J Integr Med.October 17, 2017;15(6):411-425.
Compiled by kelly a ilseman, L.Ac., for the Oregon Acupuncture Association (OAA) January 2020, and compiled into this format February 10, 20222
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