Imagined Acupuncture for Postoperative Pain After Spinal Surgery

Jingping Wang, MD, Ph.D.

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Pain Management

Treatments: Other: Education video; Other: video-guided acupuncture imagery treatment (VGAIT)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07197710

2025P001674

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether imagined acupuncture can reduce postoperative acute pain in adult patients undergoing spinal surgery. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does video-guided imagined acupuncture improve postoperative pain control?

Does the intervention reduce opioid consumption and improve functional recovery in the immediate postoperative period?

Researchers will compare the imagined acupuncture group to the control education video group to see if imagery-based intervention leads to better pain outcomes and reduced analgesic use.

Participants will:

Watch a 30-minute video once daily for 7 consecutive days after surgery

Complete pain and function assessments during the hospital stay and postoperative follow-up

Enrollment: 120 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Undergoing 1- to 2-level primary spine surgery
• Aged 18 years or older
• Willing and able to receive postoperative imagined acupuncture (VGAIT)
• Able to provide written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Undergoing revision surgery or procedures involving more than 3 spinal levels
• History of prior spinal surgery
• Intraoperative complications likely to interfere with postoperative pain assessment
• Diagnosed with severe cognitive impairment or psychiatric disorders that impair participation or communication
• Pregnant or breastfeeding
• Unable to cooperate with treatment or pain assessments Individuals with uncorrectable vision impairment that would interfere with viewing study videos or completing study questionnaires.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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120 participants in 2 patient groups

Group 1: Imagined Acupuncture Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Participants assigned to Group 1 will receive standard postoperative care and a daily VGAIT session once per day for seven consecutive days following surgery. Each session will last approximately 30 minutes and will be guided by a standardized video designed to induce acupuncture imagery and mental engagement. VGAIT will be administered at the same time each day (e.g., 9:00 AM ± 30 minutes). VAS and ODI assessments will be administered following the completion of the video session. The initial video session will be administered once the patient has fully regained consciousness in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) following surgery.

Treatment:

Other: video-guided acupuncture imagery treatment (VGAIT)

Group 2: Education video

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Participants in the control group will receive standard postoperative care and Education video without any simulated acupuncture intervention. VAS and ODI assessments will be conducted at the same intervals as in Group 1 for consistency and comparison.

Treatment:

Other: Education video