Treatment Choices and Healthcare Services Utilization Amongst Lumbosacral Radiculopathy Patients: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Researchers examined what treatments people with lumbosacral radicular pain (LRP) had tried before joining a mindfulness study. LRP is a type of low back pain that shoots down into the leg, causing numbness, tingling, and weakness. This condition affects millions of people worldwide and can significantly limit daily activities.

The study looked at 71 people with chronic LRP to see what therapies they had used to manage their pain. The findings revealed that complementary and integrative health (CIH) treatments were extremely popular among this group. More than half of participants had tried acupuncture (58%) and chiropractic care (58%) before enrolling in the study. Additionally, 42% had used herbs or supplements. Most patients (52%) were using two or more complementary therapies at the same time to help control their symptoms.

Traditional medical treatments were also common. About 61% had used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen, and over one-third had received epidural steroid injections for pain relief.

What's particularly interesting is that people with LRP used complementary therapies at much higher rates than the general chronic pain population reported in national health surveys. This suggests that patients with radiating leg pain may be especially motivated to seek out multiple treatment options, including acupuncture.

For patients considering acupuncture for LRP, this study shows you're not alone—many others with similar symptoms have found it worth trying as part of their pain management approach. The high utilization rates suggest patients perceive value in acupuncture for this challenging condition. If you're interested in trying acupuncture for lumbosacral radicular pain, seek a licensed acupuncturist with experience treating musculoskeletal conditions.

This secondary analysis of baseline data from a mindfulness-based intervention RCT (n=71) examined prior treatment utilization patterns among chronic lumbosacral radicular pain (LRP) patients. The study revealed notably high complementary and integrative health (CIH) utilization rates: 58% had used acupuncture, 58% chiropractic care, and 42% herbs/supplements. Importantly, 52% of participants utilized two or more CIH modalities concurrently. Conventional treatment history included NSAIDs (61%) and epidural steroid injections (34%). When compared to National Health Interview Survey data on chronic pain populations, this LRP cohort demonstrated substantially higher utilization rates for acupuncture, chiropractic care, natural products, and physical activity. Clinical implications: The elevated CIH utilization in LRP patients suggests this population actively seeks multimodal care approaches, likely reflecting inadequate symptom control with conventional treatments alone. Acupuncturists should anticipate treating LRP patients who are concurrently using multiple therapies and consider care coordination accordingly. These findings support including acupuncture in clinical practice guidelines for LRP management.