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Effect of trigger point acupuncture on pain and functional activity in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain: a randomised controlled trial.
- Source :
- Acupuncture in Medicine; Jun2023, Vol. 41 Issue 3, p130-141, 12p
- Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- Background: Trigger point (TrP) acupuncture is commonly used to treat chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP). Evidence for the efficacy of most TrP acupuncture modalities is weak or lacking. Objective: To assess the effect of TrP acupuncture on pain, disability, gait and muscle activation in patients with CNLBP. Methods: From May 2019 to February 2020, a randomised, single-blind clinical trial was carried out involving 33 participants with CNLBP, divided into one of two intervention groups or a control group (n = 11 per group). The intervention groups received TrP acupuncture or traditional acupuncture treatment three times a week for 4 weeks, and the control group remained on a waiting list and received no treatment. Pain, disability, gait and muscle activation were assessed at baseline and at 4 and 8 weeks of follow-up. Results: At baseline, the three groups showed no significant differences in age, gender, height, weight, body mass index (BMI) or disease course (p ⩾ 0.05). At 4 weeks, pain was relieved (measured by visual analogue scores, p = 0.036) and disability was improved (reflected by lower Oswestry disability index scores, p = 0.029) in TrP acupuncture versus waiting list groups. Moreover, lumbar extension range of motion was increased in TrP acupuncture versus both traditional acupuncture and waiting list groups (p = 0.029 and p = 0.027, respectively). At 8 weeks, there were no significant differences in any parameter between the three groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: TrP acupuncture had a significant short-term effect on pain relief and disability in patients with CNLBP, but there was no evidence of a long-term influence (at 8 weeks following the intervention). Further high-quality randomised controlled trials are needed for verification in the future. Trial registration number: ChiCTR1900022838 (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- SKELETAL muscle physiology
CHRONIC pain treatment
SPINE physiology
LUMBAR pain
QUADRATUS lumborum muscles
PATIENT aftercare
KRUSKAL-Wallis Test
STATISTICS
PAIN
RANGE of motion of joints
SKELETAL muscle
ACUPUNCTURE
GAIT in humans
ONE-way analysis of variance
FISHER exact test
MANN Whitney U Test
TREATMENT effectiveness
MYOFASCIAL pain syndromes
FUNCTIONAL assessment
RANDOMIZED controlled trials
HYPODERMIC needles
PEARSON correlation (Statistics)
DIAGNOSIS
BLIND experiment
ACUPUNCTURE points
CHI-squared test
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
REPEATED measures design
QUESTIONNAIRES
RESEARCH funding
MOTION capture (Human mechanics)
ELECTROMYOGRAPHY
STATISTICAL sampling
DATA analysis software
DATA analysis
DIGITAL video
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 09645284
- Volume :
- 41
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Acupuncture in Medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 164157843
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/09645284221107685