Single acupuncture needles will be placed bilaterally onto the patient's Shen Men acupuncture point in the ear for a duration of 20 minutes.

Single acupuncture needles will be placed bilaterally onto a sham location in the ear for a duration of 20 minutes.

Acupuncture will be simulated with a paper clip.

20-minute acupuncture session

Change in anxiety from baseline (pre-acupuncture intervention) will be measured using the State subscale of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The STAI is a psychological inventory based on a 4-point Likert scale and consists of 40 questions on a self-report basis. The STAI is one of the first tests to assess both state and trait anxiety separately. Each type of anxiety has its own scale of 20 different questions that are scored. Scores range from 20 to 80, with higher scores correlating with greater anxiety. Low scores indicate a mild form of anxiety whereas median scores indicate a moderate form of anxiety and high scores indicate a severe form of anxiety. The 4-point scale for S-anxiety is as follows: 1.) not at all, 2.) somewhat, 3.) moderately so, 4.) very much so. The 4-point scale for T-anxiety is as follows: 1.) almost never, 2.) sometimes, 3.) often, 4.) almost always.

Patients will be asked "On a scale of 0-10, how much do you believe acupuncture to be a valid treatment for anxiety?" (0=do not believe at all; 10=fully believe)

Single acupuncture needles will be placed bilaterally onto the patient's Shen Men acupuncture point in the ear for a duration of 20 minutes.

Shen Men acupuncture: 20-minute acupuncture session

Epidural injection: Epidural injection for the relief of back pain

Change in anxiety from baseline (pre-acupuncture intervention) will be measured using the State subscale of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The STAI is a psychological inventory based on a 4-point Likert scale and consists of 40 questions on a self-report basis. The STAI is one of the first tests to assess both state and trait anxiety separately. Each type of anxiety has its own scale of 20 different questions that are scored. Scores range from 20 to 80, with higher scores correlating with greater anxiety. Low scores indicate a mild form of anxiety whereas median scores indicate a moderate form of anxiety and high scores indicate a severe form of anxiety. The 4-point scale for S-anxiety is as follows: 1.) not at all, 2.) somewhat, 3.) moderately so, 4.) very much so. The 4-point scale for T-anxiety is as follows: 1.) almost never, 2.) sometimes, 3.) often, 4.) almost always.

Single acupuncture needles will be placed bilaterally onto the patient's Shen Men acupuncture point in the ear for a duration of 20 minutes.

Shen Men acupuncture: 20-minute acupuncture session

Epidural injection: Epidural injection for the relief of back pain