Low-back pain is a very common health problem; about 80 percent of adults have it at some point in their lives. It’s the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed workdays and visits to physicians. 

Most episodes of low-back pain are acute—meaning that they last only for a short period of time. In most cases, acute low-back pain goes away without causing any lasting problems. Sometimes however, low-back pain becomes chronic—meaning that it lasts for 3 months or more. Treatment sometimes relieves chronic low-back pain successfully, but in other cases, the pain persists despite treatment. 

There’s evidence that some psychological and physical complementary health approaches, including acupuncture, massage therapy, and spinal manipulation, may be helpful for acute low-back pain. And a variety of complementary approaches, including acupuncture, mindfulness-based stress reduction, progressive muscle relaxation, spinal manipulation, tai chi, and yoga, have shown promise for helping people manage chronic low-back pain.