Electroacupuncture for Chronic Neck Pain

January 21, 2009 updated by: Hong Kong Baptist University

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Long-Term Efficacy of Electroacupuncture for Chronic Neck Pain

Objective: The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the long-term efficacy of electroacupuncture for chronic neck pain. The secondary objective is to document any possible side effects of acupuncture.

Design and Subjects: Prospective, randomised controlled trial comparing the outcomes of treatment and placebo interventions. Subjects are 200 adult patients with chronic mechanical neck pain.

Setting: Outpatient clinics.

Interventions: Patients will be randomly allocated to one of the two groups receiving either: electroacupuncture (real treatment) or placebo (sham laser acupuncture). Each treatment will last for 45 minutes. Each patient will receive a total of nine treatments (three times per week for three weeks).

Main outcome measures:

Primary outcome measures: Neck pain disability index (Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire).

Secondary outcome measures: Maximum pain related to motion on visual analogue scale. Quality of life (SF-36). Use of medication. Sick leave because of neck pain. Treatment-related adverse effects, such as pain, skin irritation, bleeding and dizziness, will also be assessed.

Assessments will be made before treatment, one month, three months and six months after the treatment course. The credibility of placebo treatment will also be assessed.

Expected results: We expect that patients in the treatment group will have significant improvements on primary and secondary outcome measures, when compared with patients in the inert placebo group.

Conclusion: This study will provide credible evidence regarding whether electroacupuncture is effective in reducing chronic neck pain. Patients, healthcare professionals, and government policy makers can make use of this information to improve clinical outcomes and reduce costs

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Unknown

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
200

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult male or female subjects age above 18 with mechanical neck pain for over three months.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who have received acupuncture treatment for any purpose in the last 6 months.
  • Patients who will be unlikely to attend all treatment sessions.
  • Patients with systemic diseases, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disorder.
  • Patients with a history of traumatic injury of the neck or upper back from T1-T6, precious fracture or surgery to the neck, neurological deficits (e.g., muscle weakness or changes in spinal reflex jerks), a history of malignancy, congenital abnormality of the spine, or systemic bone and joint disorders (e.g., RA).
  • Patients who are seeking compensation for neck-related condition.
  • Patients who have needle phobia.
  • Pregnant and breast feeding women.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: TRIPLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
EXPERIMENTAL: 1
Electroacupuncture treatment
Device: electroacupuncture
Nine sections of 45 minutes electroacupuncture treatment in three weeks
SHAM_COMPARATOR: 2
Sham laser acupuncture
Device: Sham laser acupuncture
Sham laser acupuncture

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in neck pain specific disability index as measured by the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ).
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
i) Change in maximum pain related to motion, regardless the direction of movement. ii) Quality of life as assessed by SF-36 health survey. iii) Use of medication because of neck pain iv) Sick leave because of neck pain.
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months
Adverse effects.
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Hong Kong Baptist University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 1, 2007

Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 1, 2009

Study Completion (ANTICIPATED)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 21, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 21, 2009

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 22, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 22, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 21, 2009

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 04060191

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