Clinical trial NCT06868173: Trigger Point Electroacupuncture Treatment in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain
Official title: Evaluation of the Analgesic Efficacy of Trigger Point Electroacupuncture in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: a Blinded Randomised Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP)
Trigger Points
Keywords: Electro-acupuncture
Trigger points
Low back pain
Lead sponsor: University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-03-10
Enrollment: 60
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 20
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: A blinded randomized controlled trial
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Electroacupuncture is an application of acupuncture combined with electrical stimulation of acupuncture points through acupuncture needles to achieve faster pain relief than acupuncture. Recently, research has shown that Trigger point acupuncture has a significant effect in reducing pain better than acupuncture on acupoints in patients with chronic low back pain. However, no research has compared the pain relief effect between Trigger Point electroacupuncture and electroacupuncture on acupoints in patients with chronic low back pain. This study was conducted to address this question.

Detailed description: Participants and Methods: A blinded randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted involving 60 chronic low back pain participants, randomly divided into two groups (A and B): 30 receiving electroacupuncture at the Trigger point (group A) and 30 receiving electroacupuncture on the meridian (group B) for 10 sessions. The primary outcomes were visual analogue scale (VAS), BPI index, and Trigger point count.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients aged 20 or older who consented to participate in the study;
* Individuals experiencing LBP persisting for more than 3 months with an average VAS score of 5 cm or over;
* Patients displaying trigger points in back

Exclusion Criteria:

* Major trauma or systemic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, Scheuermann disease;
* Systemic symptoms such as weight loss, fever of unknown origin, anorexia, personal history of malignancy, diffuse pain and joint stiffness;
* Symptoms of infection such as fever, meningeal irritation signs, photophobia;
* Symptoms of central motor neuron damage such as Hoffmann sign, Babinski sign, hyperreflexia, spasticity, incontinence, sexual dysfunction;
* Symptoms of serious acute diseases such as myocardial infarction (chest pain, sweating, shortness of breath), arterial dissections (tearing sensation, headache, blurred vision);
* Conditions unsuitable for acupuncture such as inflammation of skin in need of acupuncture, weak or exhausted patients, severe comorbidities;
* Being treated with other methods. Elimination criteria: Patients experiencing adverse events from the intervention leading to their discomfort and withdrawal from the study

Primary outcomes:
measure: Comparison of VAS pain intensity between electroacupuncture at the trigger point and electroacupuncture traditional point group
timeFrame: During procedure
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Comparison of BPI index between electroacupuncture at the trigger point and electroacupuncture traditional point group.
timeFrame: Baseline, Day 1, Day 5 and Day 10
Other outcomes:
measure: Comparison of trigger point count between electroacupuncture at the trigger point and electroacupuncture traditional point group
timeFrame: Baseline, Day 1, Day 5 and Day 10
Locations:
city: Ho Chi Minh
country: Vietnam
facility: University of Medical Center HCMC - Branch no.3, Ho Chi Minh
Study officials:
References:
citation: Leite PMS, Mendonca ARC, Maciel LYS, Poderoso-Neto ML, Araujo CCA, Gois HCJ, Souza JHS, DeSantana JM. Does Electroacupuncture Treatment Reduce Pain and Change Quantitative Sensory Testing Responses in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain? A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018 Oct 8;2018:8586746. doi: 10.1155/2018/8586746. eCollection 2018.
citation: Schliessbach J, van der Klift E, Arendt-Nielsen L, Curatolo M, Streitberger K. The effect of brief electrical and manual acupuncture stimulation on mechanical experimental pain. Pain Med. 2011 Feb;12(2):268-75. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2010.01051.x. Epub 2011 Jan 28.
citation: Itoh K, Katsumi Y, Kitakoji H. Trigger point acupuncture treatment of chronic low back pain in elderly patients--a blinded RCT. Acupunct Med. 2004 Dec;22(4):170-7. doi: 10.1136/aim.22.4.170.
citation: Itoh K, Katsumi Y, Hirota S, Kitakoji H. Effects of trigger point acupuncture on chronic low back pain in elderly patients--a sham-controlled randomised trial. Acupunct Med. 2006 Mar;24(1):5-12. doi: 10.1136/aim.24.1.5.