Can acupuncture ease back pain when drugs fail? new study investigates

This study looks at whether adding acupuncture (a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique) to usual care can help reduce spinal pain in people with axial spondyloarthritis, a type of inflammatory arthritis. The trial involves 140 adults in Singapore who have not gotten enough relief from standard anti-inflammatory drugs. Participants are randomly assigned to receive either standard rheumatology care alone or standard care plus acupuncture. The main goal is to measure differences in spinal pain after 6 weeks, with follow-ups up to 24 weeks.