Electroacupuncture as a complement to usual care for patients with non-acute low back pain after back surgery: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The aim of this pilot study was to estimate the sample size for a large pragmatic study of the comparative effectiveness of electroacupuncture (EA) for low back pain (LBP) after back surgery.

Design

A randomised, active-controlled, assessor-blinded trial.

Participants

Patients with recurrent or persistent LBP, defined as a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score of ≥50 mm, with or without leg pain after back surgery.

Interventions

Patients were randomised to an EA plus usual care (UC) group or to a UC alone group at a 1:1 ratio. Patients assigned to each group received UC, including drug therapy, physical therapy and back pain education, twice a week for 4 weeks; those assigned to the EA plus UC group additionally received EA.

Outcome measures

The p

SUBMITTER: Heo I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5961607 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature