Evaluating the Effect of Acupuncture on Pain Relief Using Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST)

Massachusetts General Hospital254 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of this study is to explore a new approach in assessing the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy in the treatment chronic pain conditions.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

TRIPLE

Enrollment

254

Conditions

Pain

Interventions

AcupunctureOTHER

Subjects receive 6 acupuncture treatments for neck or back pain.

Sham AcupunctureOTHER

Subjects receive 6 sham acupuncture treatments for neck or back pain.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Subject will be between ages 18 to 65 years. Both male and female subjects will be recruited. 2. Subject should have had cervical or lumbar radicular pain for at least two months. This requirement is to avoid the uncertainty of an unstable pain condition and to minimize the study variation. 3. Subject has a pain score of 4 or above (Visual Analog Scale (VAS): 0 - 10 from no pain to worst pain). 4. Cervical or lumbar radicular pain will include, but is not limited to, such clinical conditions as disk herniation, spinal stenosis, and post-laminectomy syndrome. 5. For controls, healthy subjects without radicular pain for at least three months will be recruited. \*We are no longer accepting healthy volunteers.\* Exclusion Criteria: 1. Subject has detectable sensory deficits at the site of QST. Sensory deficits refer to such conditions resulting from neurological diseases or medical conditions causing peripheral polyneuropathy and sensory changes, which include but are not limited to diabetic neuropathy, alcoholic neuropathy, AIDS neuropathy, severe thyroid disease, and severe liver or kidney disorders. 2. Subject has scar tissue, infection, or acute injury at the site of QST. 3. Subject is on anticoagulation therapy. 4. Subject is pregnant. 5. Subject is tested positive on illicit drugs.

Locations (1)

MGH Center for Translational Pain Research

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Heat Pain Tolerance - Baseline: Maximum Temperature (Heat) That Could be Tolerated by Participants

Changes in response to heat stimulation stated as tolerance to heat. Responses are measured with a quantitative sensory testing (QST) device. Measurements were taken before the course of a 4 week acupuncture treatment schedule.

Time frame: Start of Week 1

Heat Pain Tolerance - Visit 2 or 4: Maximum Temperature (Heat) That Could be Tolerated by Participants

Changes in response to heat stimulation stated as tolerance to heat. Responses are measured with a quantitative sensory testing (QST) device. Measurements were taken during the course of a 4 week acupuncture treatment schedule. Those in the no treatment groups were attending their 2nd visit, which occured on the same timeline as if they were attending the 4th visit as a treatment group subject.

Time frame: End of Week 2

Heat Pain Tolerance - Visit 3 or 7: Maximum Temperature (Heat) That Could be Tolerated by Participants

Changes in response to heat stimulation stated as tolerance to heat. Responses are measured with a quantitative sensory testing (QST) device. Measurements were taken after the course of a 4 week acupuncture treatment schedule. Those in the no treatment groups were attending their 3rd visit, which occured on the same timeline as if they were attending the 7th visit as a treatment group subject.

Time frame: End of Week 4

Cold Pain Tolerance - Baseline: Maximum Temperature (Cold) That Could be Tolerated by Participants

Changes in response to cold stimulation stated as tolerance to cold. Responses are measured with a quantitative sensory testing (QST) device. Measurements were taken before the course of a 4 week acupuncture treatment schedule.

Time frame: Start of Week 1

Cold Pain Tolerance - Visit 2 or 4: Maximum Temperature (Cold) That Could be Tolerated by Participants

Changes in response to cold stimulation stated as tolerance to cold. Responses are measured with a quantitative sensory testing (QST) device. Measurements were taken during the course of a 4 week acupuncture treatment schedule. Those in the no treatment groups were attending their 2nd visit, which occured on the same timeline as if they were attending the 4th visit as a treatment group subject.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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