Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

The study was carried out to inform Medicare acupuncture coverage decisions addressing the gap in evidence on acupuncture effectiveness, specifically for older adults with chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Objective

To determine the effectiveness of standard acupuncture (SA) or SA plus maintenance (enhanced acupuncture [EA]) to improve CLBP-related disability relative to usual medical care (UMC) at 3, 6, and 12 months after randomization.

Design, setting, and participants

This multisite, 3-arm, parallel-group randomized clinical trial of older adults with CLBP collected data from 4 US health care systems in 3 geographic areas and compared SA and EA treatment with UMC only. Study enrollment was conducted from August 12, 2021, to October 27, 2022; follow-up concl

SUBMITTER: DeBar LL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12432643 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature