A review of evidence from clinical trials shows that a variety of complementary health approaches—including acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, massage therapy, and relaxation techniques—hold promise for helping to manage pain. The review, conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, was published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Painful conditions are the most common reasons why American adults use complementary health approaches, on which they spend more than $30 billion yearly. About 40 million American adults experience severe pain in any given year, and they spend more than $14 billion out-of-pocket on complementary approaches to manage such painful conditions as back pain, neck pain, and arthritis.
The researchers searched the MEDLINE database for randomized, controlled clinical trials published from 1966 through March 2016 and conducted in the United States or including U.S. participants. This approach was chosen because of the particular nature of the U.S. health-care system, which is relevant to "standard care" or "usual care" in trials and also to licensing requirements (where applicable) for complementary therapies.
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