A Study on the Effectiveness of Tuina in Managing Chronic Low Back Pain
Unknown statusNot applicableNCT05363579
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)
Low back pain (LBP) is a common clinical symptom prompting patients to seek medical care. 80% of adults experience LBP during their lifetime. The causes of CNLBP are still not fully elucidated and there is currently no gold standard treatment for CNLBP. The mainstay of conservative treatment for CNLBP includes pharmacological interventions, weight loss and physiotherapy. More recently, Tuina, a component of Traditional Chinese Medicine, has been used to treat CNLBP as well. Tuina is mainly applied to the meridians or acupoints by manipulation techniques such as pushing, grasping, pressing and rubbing of the soft tissues or muscles of the body. It is reported to improve circulation and the qi in the body. However, recent systematic reviews on the efficacy of Tuina in the management of CNLBP were not able to definitively conclude the effectiveness of Tuina due to the poor methodological quality of the studies. Therefore, this study is a single blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT), which aims to determine the efficacy and safety of Tuina in the management of CNLBP. Similar studies are also conducted in China (First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University) and USA (Mayo Clinic). Patients from SGH Orthopaedic clinics with CNLBP, will be recruited for this RCT, and will be randomly divided into 3 intervention groups: Physiotherapy intervention group as the control group, Tuina intervention group, and combined intervention (Tuina + Physiotherapy) group. The intervention will last for 2 months, and follow up assessments will be conducted at the 5th month. Outcome measures include Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Spinal range of motion, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), TCM Syndrome scale and quality of life 36 item short form survey, (SF-36).
Study details
- Official title
- A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) on the Effectiveness of Tuina in Managing Chronic Low Back Pain
- Conditions
- Interventions
- Other: Physiotherapy
- Other: Tuina therapy
- Other: Physio and Tuina therapy
- Sponsor
- Singapore General Hospital
- Collaborators
- The Head Foundation
- Start date
- 2021-03-01
- Primary completion
- 2023-01-31
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 21 Years to 75 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- Singapore
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: Voluntary participants aged 21 to 75 years old, regardless of gender, who has CNLBP according to the specific diagnostic criteria below: 1. Pain and discomfort of unknown etiology in the low back region, (with or without referred pain to the lower limbs), lasting for more than 12 weeks. 2. There may be muscle weakness, stiffness, limited mobility or reduced spinal coordination during spinal movement. 3. Physical examination showed an increase in muscle tension or a significant localized tenderness point (trigger point) in the painful area, with negative straight-leg raising test, and no signs of nerve root lesion Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients with severe skin diseases (e.g., skin cancer, erysipelas, severe eczema, severe dermatitis, severe psoriasis and severe hives lupus). 2. Recent (within the last month) episodes of spinal pathologies such as fractures, tumors, inflammatory and infectious diseases. 3. History of spine surgery. 4. Recent (within the last month) episodes of cardiovascular or metabolic disorders. 5. Patients diagnosed with psychosocial factors affecting the cognitive and mental faculties such as major depression, moderate to severe dementia and severe psychiatric diseases (such as schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, and paranoid psychosis). 6. Women who are Pregnant. 7. Full-time National Service men or on workmen compensation.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05363579