To evaluate the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial investigating the optimal number of treatment sessions of acupuncture, used as an adjunct to usual care, for managing chronic low back pain.
In total, 45 participants with chronic low back pain were recruited and randomly allocated to receive usual care plus 4, 7, or 10 sessions of acupuncture (15/group). Primary outcomes were recruitment rate, randomization rate, treatment compliance, completion of the outcome measures, and retention rates. Secondary outcomes included back function, pain intensity and bothersomeness, generic health status, activity disability, and participant satisfaction. Data were collected at baseline and discharge, and at 6 and 12 weeks post randomization.
The recruitment method was demonstrated to be successful: recruitment rate was 43.7%, and randomization rate was 100%. Compliance with treatment was high among participants (86.7%, 86.7%, and 100% for the 4-, 7-, and 10-session group, respectively). Outcome questionnaires used in this study were found to be appropriate for a future randomized controlled trial. Participant retention rates were 88.9% at discharge and at 6 weeks post randomization and 84.4% at 12 weeks post randomization. Secondary outcomes (except for pain intensity) favored the 10-session acupuncture group at 12 weeks post randomization. Over 90% of participants indicated that they were "very satisfied" and/or "extremely satisfied" with the acupuncture treatment.
This study demonstrated that a full-scale randomized controlled trial using the methodology described above is feasible, and such a trial is essential to test the dose dependence of acupuncture.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 June 2018.
All research outputs
#12,940,457
of 23,337,345 outputs
Outputs from Clinical Rehabilitation
#1,252
of 1,888 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#144,622
of 311,659 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Clinical Rehabilitation
#16
of 23 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,337,345 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 44th percentile – i.e., 44% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,888 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 9.6. This one is in the 32nd percentile – i.e., 32% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 311,659 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 53% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 23 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 34th percentile – i.e., 34% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
