Physical CAM Therapies for Chronic Low Back Pain

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Status and phase

Completed

Phase 2

Conditions

Chronic Low Back Pain

Treatments

Procedure: massage therapy

Procedure: acupuncture

Procedure: chiropractic

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

NIH

Identifiers

NCT00065975

EisenbergD

R01AT000622-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

This is a pilot randomized trial intended to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture, chiropractic and massage for chronic back pain in older and younger adults.

Sex

All

Ages

20+ years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Low back pain duration of at least 3 months;
Low back pain occurring in the past week;
No numbness or tingling in the lower extremities;
No pain that radiates to below the knee;
No use of massage, chiropractic or acupuncture for any reason in the past year;
Able to attend scheduled appointments;
Able to hear, read, and understand English;
No low back pain surgery in the past 3 years;
No unexplained weight loss;
No previous vertebral or spinal fractures;
No previous non-traumatic bone fractures;
No other spinal pathology, including scoliosis, spinal stenosis, osteoporosis, or ankylosing spondylitis;
No cancer (except simple skin cancers) in the past 5 years;
No pacemakers;
No bleeding problems or anticoagulant use;
No major organ transplants;
No oral corticosteroid use for more than 4 consecutive weeks during the past year;
Cannot be pregnant;
Must be able to get down to and up from the floor by yourself;
Able to walk 2 flat city blocks unassisted;
Willing to participate in periodic telephone interviews.