Effects of Genuine vs Sham Acupuncture and Communication Type on Relaxation (ACU)

August 17, 2015 updated by: Mats Lekander, Karolinska Institutet
The purpose of this study is to investigate if it is possible to influence the participants' expectations to improve outcome, in this particular setting the relaxing effects of one single acupuncture treatment with genuine or sham needles combined with positive or neutral communication regarding expected relaxing effects.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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.

Detailed Description

Background It is commonly reported that individuals experience a sense of relaxation during acupuncture treatment. However it is not known if the effects are related to the specific effects of needling or non-specific effects associated with the treatment procedure e.g. the communication with the therapist. It is well known that the way in which patients and clinicians communicate with each other affect treatment outcome, and one of the possible mechanisms to mediate the communication-related treatment outcomes is patient expectations.

Aims The aim of the study is therefore to investigate if it is possible to influence the individuals' expectations to improve outcome; in this particular setting the relaxing effects of one single acupuncture treatment with genuine or sham needles combined with positive or neutral communication regarding expected relaxing effects. The investigators also aim to investigate if different therapists influence how individuals perceive treatment effects, blinding and the communication during treatment with genuine and sham acupuncture.

Procedure Nine therapists performed treatments on voluntary healthy individuals who were randomized to a 30 minute treatment session with a) genuine penetrating acupuncture in traditional acupuncture points or b) non-penetrating sham needles in sham points. Within groups, individuals were further randomized to two communication styles 1) neutral communication or 2) strengthened positive communication regarding expectations concerning relaxing effects.

Outcome measures Perceived degree of expectancy and relaxation was measured directly before and after the treatment. The individuals also rated how they experienced the therapist´s communication style regarding grade of positivity and if they believed that the therapist had given them genuine or sham acupuncture directly after treatment.

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 (Actual)

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.
243

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 4

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

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Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Over 18 years of age
  • Able to understand and read/write Swedish

Exclusion Criteria:

  • No acupuncture training

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 Assignment
  • Masking: Single

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.
Active Comparator: acupuncture positive communication
Genuine acupuncture needles combined with positive communication regarding the expected treatment effects
Procedure: acupuncture
acupuncture was administered (sharp needles diameter 0.25 x length 40 mm) bilaterally to the acupuncture point pericardium six (PC6) between the tendons of palmaris longus and flexor carpii radialis at two body-inches (one body-inch approximately 1.5 cm) proximal to the wrist at 0.5 body-inch depth. The therapists manually manipulated the needles three times per treatment by rotating, thrusting or lifting the needles. When the participant reported a sense of numbness or soreness and the therapist noted a minimal muscular contraction around the needle.
Other Names:
  • invasive acupuncture
Procedure: positive communication
During the acupuncture treatment the therapist conveyed, at least three out of several positive statements, such as: "Many acupuncture studies have shown excellent results concerning relaxation effects", "Brain imaging studies show that acupuncture treatments affect areas that affect pulse, blood-pressure and muscle tension".
Sham Comparator: sham acupuncture positive communication
Sham acupuncture needles combined with positive communication regarding the expected treatment effects
Procedure: positive communication
During the acupuncture treatment the therapist conveyed, at least three out of several positive statements, such as: "Many acupuncture studies have shown excellent results concerning relaxation effects", "Brain imaging studies show that acupuncture treatments affect areas that affect pulse, blood-pressure and muscle tension".
Procedure: sham acupuncture
sham acupuncture was administrated (blunt needles diameter 0.25 x length 40 mm) bilaterally to a non-acupuncture point four body-inch proximal and one body-inch radial from the PC6 point, with the telescopic non-penetrating Park´s sham needle [20]. Park's credible needle looks identical to a real needle but glides upward into its handle, giving an illusion of penetration. A marking tube, identical for both acupuncture types, held the sham needle in place. The therapists manipulated the needles a few seconds three times per session until the needles touched the skin, but no "needle sensation" occurred, and then lifted the needles up from the skin.
Other Names:
  • placebo acupuncture
Active Comparator: acupuncture neutral communication
Genuine acupuncture needles combined with neutral communication regarding the expected treatment effects
Procedure: acupuncture
acupuncture was administered (sharp needles diameter 0.25 x length 40 mm) bilaterally to the acupuncture point pericardium six (PC6) between the tendons of palmaris longus and flexor carpii radialis at two body-inches (one body-inch approximately 1.5 cm) proximal to the wrist at 0.5 body-inch depth. The therapists manually manipulated the needles three times per treatment by rotating, thrusting or lifting the needles. When the participant reported a sense of numbness or soreness and the therapist noted a minimal muscular contraction around the needle.
Other Names:
  • invasive acupuncture
Procedure: neutral communication
During the acupuncture treatment the therapists conveyed, at least three out of several neutral statements, such as: "During treatment you will just lie down and rest and I will not talk so much to you", "We don´t really know if acupuncture is a good method for relaxation effects; thus we need to perform this study",
Sham Comparator: sham acupuncture neutral communication
Sham acupuncture needles combined with neutral communication regarding the expected treatment effects
Procedure: sham acupuncture
sham acupuncture was administrated (blunt needles diameter 0.25 x length 40 mm) bilaterally to a non-acupuncture point four body-inch proximal and one body-inch radial from the PC6 point, with the telescopic non-penetrating Park´s sham needle [20]. Park's credible needle looks identical to a real needle but glides upward into its handle, giving an illusion of penetration. A marking tube, identical for both acupuncture types, held the sham needle in place. The therapists manipulated the needles a few seconds three times per session until the needles touched the skin, but no "needle sensation" occurred, and then lifted the needles up from the skin.
Other Names:
  • placebo acupuncture
Procedure: neutral communication
During the acupuncture treatment the therapists conveyed, at least three out of several neutral statements, such as: "During treatment you will just lie down and rest and I will not talk so much to you", "We don´t really know if acupuncture is a good method for relaxation effects; thus we need to perform this study",

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from before treatment to after treatment in subjective report of relaxation (0-100 mm Visual analogue scale)
Time Frame: approximately 5 minutes before treatment and approximately 5 minutes after treatment
Subjective perception of relaxation measured with a 0-100 mm Visual analogue scale
approximately 5 minutes before treatment and approximately 5 minutes after treatment

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from before treatment to after treatment in subjective report of expectations (0-100 mm Visual analogue scale)
Time Frame: approximately 5 minutes before treatment and approximately 5 minutes after treatment
Subjective perception of expectation measured with a 0-100 mm Visual analogue scale
approximately 5 minutes before treatment and approximately 5 minutes after treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

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Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Karolinska Institutet

Study record dates

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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.
September 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

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, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

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, 2014

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).
August 11, 2015

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.
August 14, 2015

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.
August 17, 2015

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.
August 18, 2015

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.
August 17, 2015

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.
August 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • ACU 2013/80-31

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