BACKGROUND: Acupuncture has long been employed for the treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP). The aim of this randomized, controlled study was to validate back-pain-acupoints acupuncture for relieving CLBP compared with standard acupuncture and usual care. METHODS: In total, 236 patients with CLBP participated in this study. Eligible patients were randomized to back-pain-acupoints acupuncture, standard acupuncture, or usual care groups. Fourteen treatments were provided over four weeks. Back-related dysfunction and symptom severity were assessed by Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and visual analog scale (VAS) scores. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed for factorial analyses. RESULTS: The back-pain-acupoints acupuncture group improved by RMDQ scores and VAS scores (p < 0.001 for both) compared with the usual care group. The standardized acupuncture group also improved by RMDQ scores and VAS scores (p < 0.001 for both) compared with the usual care group. The back-pain-acupoints group improved by RMDQ scores (four weeks, p < 0.05; 24 weeks, p < 0.001) and VAS scores (p < 0.05 for both) compared with the standardized group. Across the three testing points, significant differences were found in the RMDQ and VAS scores between the usual care group and both treatment groups (p < 0.001). A significant difference was found between the back-pain-acupoints and standardized acupuncture groups in repeated-measures ANOVA (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Both acupuncture groups have beneficial and persistent effectiveness against CLBP compared with the usual care group. Back-pain-acupoints acupuncture is significantly more effective than standardized acupuncture.
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