Balance Physical Therapy

What do you think is the best treatment for bad back condition. Acupuncture or physiotherapy?

I have been told physiotherapy is a better treatment for bad back condition. But I am trying to compare the pro's and con's of physiotherapy and accupunture, so please feel free to give me your opinion, this will help me in my research.

Public Comments

1. Try an osteopath they are good, try them.
2. Have tried everything for osteo arthritis in my back. Nothing works. Acupuncture worked for 24 hours. Osteopathy worked for 2 days Physiotherapy worked for 2 days. I live with it and take St John's Wort to keep me sane. I use weights to keep up my muscular strength in support of my back and stomach. I walk my dogs as and when I can to get some cardio vascular training. Bottom line, if you give into it, the depression will kill you. If you fight too hard you get injured and cannot maintain an exercise regime. A reasonable level of all round exercise keeps me going, but I am in constant pain.
3. physiotherapy worked for me
4. Physio is as good as anything, but overall outcomes from back pain managements are a bit hit and miss whichever option you pick. Recent studies of acupuncture failed to show that it was any better than random needle insertion, and thus merely a potent placebo.
5. i have had al that,my back is crumbling and nothing helped.my doctor put me on morphine patches they are great,no were near has much pain.
6. Acupuncture works well for some things and not well for others. The research is still out on acupuncture whether its moving Qi or if it has something to do with gate theory, or any number of other things, but the research is still going on. Like any therapy it will work better for some and not for others. Same can be said with homeopathy, allopathy. Here is a quote from the last PubMed link: "CONCLUSIONS: This study has demonstrated the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial of penetrating needle acupuncture compared to a non-penetrating sham for the treatment of acute LBP in primary care; 120 participants would be required in a fully powered trial. The placebo needle used in this study proved to be a credible form of control." As an assigned many "random" needle test happen to have been placed in acupuncture points because those conducting those studies didn't bother to research the field they were trying to test.