Back Pain
Acupuncture for Back Pain in Denver
Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek acupuncture. While some episodes resolve within a few weeks, pain lasting more than 12 weeks is considered chronic and is much more likely to persist without active treatment.
Why Back Pain Becomes Chronic
Back pain can involve muscles, joints, discs, arthritis, spinal stenosis, nerve irritation or several structures at once. Imaging does not always identify a single cause. With persistent pain, changes in movement, muscle guarding and nervous-system pain processing can also become part of the problem.
This is one reason our approach looks beyond the point that hurts and considers movement and structural relationships through the low back, pelvis and surrounding regions.
What Does the Research Say?
Acupuncture has one of its strongest research bases for chronic low back pain.
In the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)'s review of the evidence, acupuncture was associated with lower pain and better function compared with no acupuncture. CMS also noted that several systematic reviews found benefits with few serious harms.
More recently, the NIH-funded BackInAction trial randomized 800 adults age 65 and older with chronic low back pain. Patients receiving acupuncture had significantly greater improvements in back-related disability than those receiving usual medical care, and the advantage persisted at 12 months. The standard treatment arm received 8–15 acupuncture sessions over 12 weeks.
Medicare Covers Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain
Medicare covers acupuncture for qualifying chronic nonspecific low back pain lasting at least 12 weeks.
Coverage allows:
Up to 12 visits in 90 days
8 additional visits if you are improving
Up to 20 treatments per year
CMS requires treatment to stop if the patient is not improving. Medicare also imposes specific provider and supervision requirements for acupuncture billing, so coverage should be confirmed before treatment.
Typical Course of Care
For chronic back pain, we generally begin with weekly treatment for approximately 6–8 visits. More severe episodes may benefit from greater frequency initially. As improvement becomes stable, visits are spaced farther apart.
We track pain, walking and standing tolerance, sleep, range of motion and the activities that originally caused difficulty.
Acupuncture and Other Treatment
Acupuncture often works particularly well as part of a broader rehabilitation plan. Physical therapy, progressive strengthening, walking, appropriate medication and—in selected cases—injections or surgical evaluation can all have roles.
The goal is not simply temporary pain relief. It is to reduce pain enough to restore movement and function.
Schedule an evaluation online at Backupuncture of Denver 950 S Cherry St, Suite 1675, Denver, CO 80246 or call (720)370-2711 to develop a treatment plan for your back pain.