Put down those needles and rub me

If low-back pain has you down, this news should help: A recent study found that massage handily beat acupuncture in easing people's suffering. Drawing on group health insurance members, US researchers from the Group Health Cooperative and the Harvard Medical School assigned 262 people with low-back pain to traditional Chinese medical acupuncture or to massage. (A third group was given educational materials.)
Ten weeks later, 74 percent of patients getting massage scored their treatment as very helpful, compared with just 46 percent of acupuncture patients. A year later, those who received massage had fewer symptoms than the acupuncture group, plus they had greater mobility and needed fewer pain relievers.

So if you have lower back pain, find a good massage therapist. » Continue reading

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