Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 1983 Jan; 65(1): 44-6.

Superficial acupuncture in the relief of chronic low back pain.

Macdonald AJ, Macrae KD, Master BR, Rubin AP.

A single-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial of superficial acupuncture in the treatment of low back pain was carried out by comparing 8 patients treated by acupuncture with 9 patients treated by placebo. In all five measures of efficacy chosen for study the acupuncture group achieved better responses than the placebo group; four of the five inter-group differences were statistically significant. In addition, an overall mean for all five measures combined showed significant superiority of acupuncture over placebo.