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Acupuncture in the management of chronic low back pain: a blinded randomized controlled trial
Kerr DP, Walsh DM, Baxter D
The Clinical Journal of Pain 2003 Nov-Dec;19(6):364-370
clinical trial
5/10 [Eligibility criteria: Yes; Random allocation: Yes; Concealed allocation: No; Baseline comparability: Yes; Blind subjects: No; Blind therapists: No; Blind assessors: Yes; Adequate follow-up: No; Intention-to-treat analysis: No; Between-group comparisons: Yes; Point estimates and variability: Yes. Note: Eligibility criteria item does not contribute to total score] *This score has been confirmed*

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic low back pain. METHODS: Patients (n = 60) with chronic low back pain were recruited and randomly allocated to either acupuncture therapy or placebo transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) groups. Patients were treated weekly for 6 weeks, and blinded assessments were carried out pre- and post-treatment using the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and visual analog scales (VAS) for pain, the Short-form 36 quality-of-life questionnaire, and a simple range of motion measurement. A total of 46 patients completed the trial and were followed up at 6 months. RESULTS: Analysis of results using t tests showed that in both groups there were significant pre-post improvements for all scores, except for MPQ scores in the placebo-TENS group. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups for any of the outcome measures at the end of treatment. Results from the 6-month follow-up would suggest that the response was better in the acupuncture group. DISCUSSION: Further research is necessary to fully assess the efficacy of this treatment in combating chronic low back pain using larger sample sizes or alternative control groups.

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