Flexion relaxation reinstated after acupuncture in a chronic low back pain patient: a case report.

Abstract

Up to 19.6% of adults have chronic low back pain (cLBP), which is the leading cause of disability worldwide.1,2 Acupuncture is recommended as one of the initial treatment options for cLBP, but this is based on lowquality evidence.3 The flexion relaxation phenomenon (FRP) is an electrical silencing of the lumbar muscles with full trunk flexion in LBP-free subjects. The FRP is often absent in patients with cLBP and is an important test to objectively assess their improvement.4 However, to our knowledge, there are no reports on the use of acupuncture and the measurement of FRP in cLBP patients.