OBJECTIVES: To assess the action of ear acupuncture on disability and tissue temperature in people with chronic pain in the spinal column. METHOD: A clinical trial with a sample of 110 people, randomized into three groups: treatment, placebo and control. The assessment instruments were the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and a thermographic camera, administered before the first treatment session, one week after and 15 days after (follow-up) the fifth session of ear acupuncture. In the analysis of the data, the Kruskal Wallis, Student-Newman Keuls and Wilcoxon tests were applied. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in disability in the treatment and placebo groups between the initial and final assessments (p< 0.05) and between the initial assessments and follow-up (p < 0.05). In the final assessment, the treatment group presented improvement of disability when compared with the placebo and control groups (p < 0.05). There was an increase in mean tissue temperature of the dorsal region between the initial and follow-up assessments in treatment and control groups (p< 0.05), and between the final assessments and follow-up in the treatment and placebo groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ear acupuncture was efficacious in reducing disability and increasing tissue temperature in people with chronic pain in the spinal column. Brazilian Register of Clinical Trials (RBR-5X69X2).

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