What’s the Bottom Line? What do we know about the effectiveness of complementary health approaches for low-back pain? There’s low- or moderate-quality evidence that a variety of mind and body practices, including acupuncture, electromyography biofeedback, low-level laser therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, progressive muscle relaxation, spinal manipulation, tai chi, and yoga, may be helpful for chronic low-back pain. There’s low-quality evidence that acupuncture, massage therapy, and spinal manipulation may be helpful for acute low-back pain. Preparations of the herb cayenne, used topically, may help to relieve low-back pain. What do we know about the safety of complementary health approaches for low-back pain? The mind and body practices mentioned above (acupuncture, electromyography biofeedback, low-level laser therapy, massage therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, progressive muscle relaxation, spinal manipulation, tai chi, and yoga) have good safety records when used appropriately. However, that doesn’t mean that they’re risk-free for everyone. Your health and special circumstances (such as pregnancy) may affect the safety of these approaches. If you’re considering natural …