Do outcomes of acupuncture for back pain differ according to varying sociocultural contexts? The view from China.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

What are the outcomes of acupuncture for back pain? According to well-regarded trials, acupuncture is little better for back pain than biomedicine, and active acupuncture is no better than sham acupuncture. These trials occurred in the West. Patients are inside the clinic a miniscule amount of time in relation to the time they are outside the clinic and enmeshed in the wider sociocultural context. Nevertheless, trials have largely overlooked potential effects of sociocultural context. The main objective of this article is to draw attention to designated features of sociocultural context that, as compared with outcomes obtained in the West, may enhance outcomes of acupuncture for back pain in China. Additional objectives of the article are to reconceptualize "sociocultura

SUBMITTER: Volinn E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3651679 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature