Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2006; 11: 57–8
This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of two frequencies (five times per week vs. two times per week) of acupuncture for chronic non-specific low back pain (LBP).
Patients (n = 30) with chronic non-specific LBP were randomised into two groups to receive 10 acupuncture treatments: Group 1 received treatment two times per week (n = 15) for 5 weeks and Group 2 received intervention five times per week for 2 weeks (n = 15). A blinded assessor measured the following outcomes at 2 weeks, 5 weeks and 3 months: pain on a VAS (primary outcome), functional disability using the Roland–Morris Disability Questionnaire, quality of life using the Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile, psychological impact with the Coping Strategies Questionnaire and Pain Locus of Control questionnaire. Two objective outcome measures were also used: the Shuttle Walk Test and Lateral Trunk Flexibility.
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients between groups were similar but for a few exceptions (LBP with leg pain, employment and medication usage). Significant improvement was found at the follow-up time point compared with baseline for all outcomes, except a few outcomes on psychological impact which showed either no change or a worse change over time, using repeated measures of one-way analysis of variance. However, there were no significant differences between groups in terms of all the outcomes using repeated measures of one-way analysis of covariance at each follow-up time point.
This trial did not detect any significant difference between groups when acupuncture was administered twice-weekly or five times per week. Further randomised control trials, with larger sample sizes, are required to assess if frequency of treatment has an effect on the outcome of LBP patients treated with acupuncture.
This study was funded by Vice Chancellor’s Scholarship of University of Ulster.
