Acupuncture on GB26 to Treat Chronic Low Back Pain

Acupuncture on GB26 to Treat Chronic Low Back Pain

This study evaluates the effecacy of acupoint GB26 based acupuncture treatment in patients with chronic low back pain. Half of the participants will partake in a 2-week acupuncture intervention, while the other half will receive a placebo treatment. The investigators hypothesize that acupuncture on GB26 reduces disability and pain more than the control intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults (both male and female) with non-specific low back pain for more than three months.
• Age range: between 20 and 60 years.
• Willingness of the patient to participate in the study, and written informed consent signed and personally dated by the patient.
• Chronic non-specific low back pain clinically diagnosed as repeated lumbar sourness and swelling pain or a chronic progressive process, accompanied by (i) X-ray examination to exclude lumbar vertebrate fractures, spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis and severe osteoporosis, and/or (ii) MRI with normal signal or low nucleus pulposus signal.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age less than 20 or greater than 60 years
• Specific causes of back pain (e.g., cancer, fractures, spinal stenosis, infections)
• Complicated back problems (e.g., prior back surgery, medico-legal issues)
• Possible contraindications for acupuncture (e.g., coagulation disorders, cardiac pacemakers, pregnancy, seizure disorder), and conditions that might confound treatment effects or interpretation of results (e.g., severe fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis)
• Conditions making treatment difficult (e.g., paralysis, psychoses, or other severe psychiatric problems based on the judgment of a physician investigator and/or a T score >60 on the psychological assessments performed during Session 1)
• Prior acupuncture treatment for back pain; 1 year minimum for any other condition.
• The intent to undergo surgery during the time of involvement in the study.
• History of cardiac, respiratory, or nervous system disease that, in the judgment of a physician investigator, precludes participation in the study because of a heightened potential for adverse outcome (e.g., asthma, claustrophobia)
• Presence of any contraindications to MRI scanning (e.g., cardiac pacemaker, metal implants, fear of closed spaces, pregnancy)
• Active substance abuse disorders within the last 24 months, based on subject self-report
• Radicular knee pain extending below the knee