Safety of Acupuncture Treatments for Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults

Completed

Conditions studied: Chronic Low Back Pain, Older Adults

In brief

Acupuncture, along with other complementary and integrative treatments, is commonly used as a complementary or integrative therapy when treating a multitude of pain complaints, including chronic low back pain(CLBP). It has been practiced as a non-pharmacological therapy in the United States over one hundred years. Integrative pain management pilot programs have demonstrated impressive reductions in medications use, emergency room visits, and annual costs of healthcare. In fact, CLBP is one of the most common conditions treated in an acupuncturist's daily schedule. Based on acupuncturists' practice, CLBP has accounted for about 12% of patient visits in recent years. Most CLBP patients who come to acupuncturists' clinic are older adults. Investigators will retrospectively check the safety of acupuncture, i.e.side effects or adverse effects of acupuncture during treatments of CLBP in older adults in past 5 years.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03850717

Run by

McLean Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, PLC

People needed

500

Starts

2013-12-31

Expected to finish

2019-02-20

Last updated by the study team

2019-02-25

Who can join

Age: 65 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age: 65-80 years old.
• CLBP is defined as a back pain problem that has persisted for at least 3 months or has resulted in pain on at least half the days in the past 6 months.
• A minimum pain intensity score of 4 out of 10 on a visual analog scale (0 = no pain, 10 = most severe pain);
• ability of the participant to fully understand the trial procedure and the risks involved, communicate with the examiner, and comply with the protocol;
• provision of written informed consent for participation.

You may not qualify if…

• Age: younger than 65.
• Pain mainly at legs;
• a history of spinal surgery;
• hip osteoarthritis; progressive neurological deficit or severe psychiatric or psychological disorders;
• serious spinal disorders, such as metastatic cancer, vertebral fracture, spinal infection, and inflammatory spondylitis;
• other contraindications for treatment, such as clotting disorders, use of anticoagulants or chemotherapy medications, and seizure disorders;
• presence of a device that could be affected by electromagnetic fields, such as a pacemaker;
• use of medications that could affect the trial results, such as corticosteroids and anticonvulsants, within the last week;
• participation in other clinical trials;
• ineligibility judged by a researcher.

Where it is running

• McLean Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine,PLC — Vienna, Virginia, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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