Acupuncture Experience in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain : A Qualitative Study

Objective : To explore and describe chronic low back pain (cLBP) patients' experience of acupuncture treatment Methods : Eleven patients with cLBP who agreed and completed the informed consent to take part in this qualitative study were interviewed thoroughly and tape-recorded. Transcribed data were read independently by 4 researchers and analysed thematically with ground theory. Results : All participants chose acupuncture treatment for their cLBP because either they preferred, other people recommended, or felt conventional treatment being more comfortable. Most of the participants experienced improvement during acupuncture treatment and continued treatment motivated by mere expectations. Participants also expressed the specific physical responses/sensations to the effect of acupuncture; various adverse effects during the course of acupuncture treatment. Economic burden was another concern when combined with other therapies in Korean Medicine hospitals. It is considered as a specifically important to those who give acupuncture treatment to obtain a full treatment effect. Conclusions : The emotional facts that Korean patients with cLBP receiving acupuncture treatment benefited by the treatment and considering specific sensations from doctor-patient relationship were turned out to be important to have the maximum treatment effect. Findings from this study should be considered in both acupuncture research and practice.