Back disorders/sciatica

Tuina and acupuncture superior for disc herniation

Tuina and acupuncture are superior to traction or Chinese herbs for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation, concludes a network meta-analysis by Chinese authors. One hundred and twenty-one studies involving a total of 13,075 patients were included. For all outcome measures, traction demonstrated the worst effectiveness, and tuina and acupuncture demonstrated the best effectiveness. No significant differences were found between tuina and acupuncture. Compared with wither tuina or acupuncture, Chinese herbs showed similar to inferior effectiveness depending on the outcome measure used.

Comparisons of the Effectiveness and Safety of Tuina, Acupuncture, Traction, and Chinese Herbs for Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019 Mar 20;2019:6821310