Acupressure for Fatigue and Low Back Pain

University of Michigan

Status

Completed

Conditions

Chronic Low Back Pain

Fatigue

Treatments

Behavioral: Relaxation acupressure

Behavioral: Stimulating acupressure

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT02106741

BAK

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to compare two kinds of self-administered acupressure (relaxation acupressure and stimulating acupressure) to usual care for management of fatigue and pain in low back pain patients.

Hypothesis: Self-administered relaxation acupressure will result in improvements in fatigue and sleep quality, pain, and physical function compared to stimulating acupressure and usual care.

Full description

Acupressure is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) technique based on a philosophy similar to that of acupuncture. It involves the application of physical pressure on different acupuncture points (acupoints). One advantage of acupressure is the ability to self-administer the treatment. Acupressure is also a viable alternative to acupuncture in situations where patients: (1) cannot come to the clinic to receive an acupuncture treatment; (2) when a more frequent intervention is needed; or (3) where needle phobia or safety concerns are an issue.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the validity and feasibility of teaching acupressure interventions using an acupressure educator for the management of symptoms related to low back pain.

Specific aims:

To examine the effect of 6-weeks of relaxation acupressure (RA) compared to a regime of stimulating acupressure (SA) or wait-list control (WL) on fatigue and sleep quality as assessed by Brief Fatigue Inventory and wrist-worn accelerometry (sleep efficiency).
To explore the effect of 6-weeks of RA compared to a regime of SA or WL on for chronic low back pain in terms of reduced pain and improved function.

Enrollment

51 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 65 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Aged18-65 years
Non-specific low back pain (either by self-report or via ICD-9 codes 724.2, 724.5, 846.0-846.9)
Low back pain that has persisted for at least 3 months
Minimum of 3/10 on the Pain Bothersome Scale
Minimum of 3/10 fatigue severity
Ambulatory with or without assistive device
Ability to operate the accelerometer (Actiwatch-S)
Stable medication regiment for the previous 2 months
Report of a physician's visit during the previous 24 months
English-speaking

Exclusion criteria

Medically unstable (acute conditions or acute presentations of chronic conditions)
Current pregnancy
Radiculopathy or report of low back pain radiating to below the knee
Reported history of spinal fracture, herniated lumbar disc, ankylosing spondylitis, and spinal stenosis.
Report of back surgery within the preceding 12 months
Participation in active litigation or compensation claims
Conditions that might confound treatment effects or interpretation of results (for example, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus)
Acupuncture or acupressure within the preceding 12 months
Report of sleep apnea
2nd or 3rd shift workers or other non-traditional sleep schedules
Use of anti-coagulant/platelet therapy within the preceding month