Chronic low back pain Musculoskeletal Diseases Low back pain
Conditions
Interventions
Patients are randomised to receive individually-tailored and supervised exercise with or without manual auricular acupuncture
Sponsors
University of Ulster (UK)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Patients with chronic or recurrent low back pain (LBP), with or without radiation to lower limb 2. Males or females between 18-65 years 3. No spinal surgery within previous 12 months 4. Patients suitable for exercise and acupuncture treatment 5. Patients willing to attend for six weeks of exercise +/- manual auricular acupuncture 6. Fluency in English 7. Access to a telephone
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Patients currently or having received treatment for chronic low back pain (CLBP) in last three months 2. Red flags indicating serious spinal pathology 3. Radicular pain indicative of nerve root compression, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, fibromyalgia, systemic or inflammatory disease 4. Contraindications to acupuncture treatment 5. Acute or sub-acute LBP patients 6. Patients having previously received auricular acupuncture 7. Any other confounding conditions 8. Patients with multiple body and/or ear piercings
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| None - as this is a feasibility study | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Baseline questionnaire 2. Numeric rating scale (NRS) (0-10 cm) 3. Oswestry disability questionnaire 4. Physical activity monitoring 5. Holistic complementary and alternative health questionnaire 6. Fear avoidance beliefs questionnaire 7. Back beliefs questionnaire 8. Seven-day recall questionnaire 9. Daily activity or analgesic intake log book 10. Exit questionnaire | — |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed