Multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial of electroacupuncture with usual care for patients with non-acute pain after back surgery
Heo I, Shin BC, Cho JH, Ha IH, Hwang EH, Lee JH, Kim KW, Kim M, Jung SY, Kwon O, Kim NK, Son DW, Shin KM · BJA Education · 2021 March
DOI 10.1016/j.bja.2020.10.038
Objective
To investigate the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) combined with usual care (UC) compared to UC alone for pain reduction and functional improvement in patients with non-acute low back pain (LBP) after back surgery.
Conclusions
In a multicenter, randomized, assessor-blinded active-controlled trial with 108 participants, those in the EA with UC group received EA and UC twice a week for 4 weeks, while the UC group received only UC. The primary outcome was the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain intensity score. Significant reductions were observed in both VAS and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores in the EA with UC group compared to the UC group. No meaningful differences were found in EuroQol-5-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D) scores and incidence of adverse events (AEs) between the groups. The study concludes that EA with UC treatment is more effective and relatively safe for non-acute LBP after back surgery, suggesting it as an integrated, conservative treatment option.
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