INT-02 - East V. West: Who Should Hold the Needle First? An Acupuncturist and an Interventional Pain Specialist Debate

Back pain is the second leading primary care chief complaint. When patients fail conservative management, many providers are often faced with the question of “What next?” During this debate, a physician medical acupuncturist and an interventional pain specialist will discuss approaches to the low back pain patient. They will also debate the evidence behind both philosophies in the treatment of low back pain, provide a cost benefit analysis, and determine which treatment should patients be referred to first. Chinese medicine has utilized needle based acupuncture successfully for the treatment of chronic low back pain for 5000 years, and medicare now covers the use of acupuncture for chronic low back pain. Over the past 20 years, interventional pain has developed multiple opioid sparing interventions targeted at axial lumbar pain treatment, including ablative, neuromodulative, and restorative therapies. Recent literature has demonstrated high efficacy for many low back indications. Who will win the debate? Certainly the patient.