Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults
CompletedNot applicableNCT04982315
View the official record on ClinicalTrials.gov Recruiting status changes often. Contact the study team listed on ClinicalTrials.gov, and talk to your doctor before joining a study.
This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
The main goal of the BackInAction research study is to determine the effectiveness of a standard course of acupuncture (15 sessions of acupuncture over 3 months) and an enhanced course of acupuncture (an additional 6 sessions of acupuncture over months 4-6) in improving back-related disability in older adults (65+ years) with chronic low back pain compared to usual care alone. Key secondary aims are to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture in improving a composite score of pain intensity and pain interference.
Study details
- Official title
- Pragmatic Trial of Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults
- Conditions
- Interventions
- Procedure: Standard Acupuncture
- Procedure: Enhanced Acupuncture
- Sponsor
- Kaiser Permanente
- Collaborators
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
- Start date
- 2021-08-12
- Primary completion
- 2024-02-07
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 65 Years
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Countries
- United States
- Total sites listed
- 4
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * Is at least 65 years of age * Is a current member or patient of the healthcare system * Visited a health care provider for low back pain within the past 12 months * Received primary care at one of the participating health care systems * Has back pain that is uncomplicated with or without radicular pain * Back pain at least 3 months * General activity question from PEG (Pain, Pain Interference with Enjoyment, General Activity scale) at least 3 * Primary care provider provides permission to contact patient * Willing and able to provide consent (Callahan cognitive impairment screener at least 3) Exclusion Criteria: * Specific types of back pain (metastatic cancer or bone cancer or secondary cancers, vertebral fractures, spinal infection, active inflammatory disease) * Low back surgery within past 3 months * Receiving workers compensation or involved in litigation related to chronic low back pain * Acupuncture within the last 6 months * Does not speak or write English or Spanish * Major psychosis, dementia * Current cancer treatment * Red flags of serious underlying illness (a fever most days in the last month; recent unexplained weight loss of 10 lbs or more) * Living in a nursing home, on Hospice, or palliative care * Non-speaking deafness * Non-reliable transportation
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04982315