When you consider the terrible side-effects caused by even over the counter pain relievers millions of people take every day for low back pain, it seems unethical to ignore the good news of these studies just because the mechanisms for how acupuncture works baffle us.

FORBES: Does NIH recommend acupuncture?

One of the recent NIH funded studies showed that acupuncture was twice as effective as conventional therapy for treating low back pain.

FORBES: Does NIH recommend acupuncture?

But there is a backlash over whether the equipment is overused on patients with ordinary back pain who would do just as well with low-tech treatment.

FORBES: Magazine Article