Vas, JorgePerea-Milla, EmilioMendez, CamilaSilva, Luis CarlosHerrera Galante, AntoniaAranda Regules, Jose ManuelMartinez Barquin, Dulce MAguilar, InmaculadaFaus, Vicente2015-07-162015-07-162006-04-21Vas J, Perea-Milla E, Mendez C, Silva LC, Herrera Galante A, Aranda Regules JM, et al. Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of non-specific acute low back pain: a randomised controlled multicentre trial protocol [ISRCTN65814467]. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2006, 6:14http://hdl.handle.net/10668/1926Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Study ProtocolBACKGROUND Low back pain and its associated incapacitating effects constitute an important healthcare and socioeconomic problem, as well as being one of the main causes of disability among adults of working age. The prevalence of non-specific low back pain is very high among the general population, and 60-70% of adults are believed to have suffered this problem at some time. Nevertheless, few randomised clinical trials have been made of the efficacy and efficiency of acupuncture with respect to acute low back pain. The present study is intended to assess the efficacy of acupuncture for acute low back pain in terms of the improvement reported on the Roland Morris Questionnaire (RMQ) on low back pain incapacity, to estimate the specific and non-specific effects produced by the technique, and to carry out a cost-effectiveness analysis. METHODS/DESIGN Randomised four-branch controlled multicentre prospective study made to compare semi-standardised real acupuncture, sham acupuncture (acupuncture at non-specific points), placebo acupuncture and conventional treatment. The patients are blinded to the real, sham and placebo acupuncture treatments. Patients in the sample present symptoms of non specific acute low back pain, with a case history of 2 weeks or less, and will be selected from working-age patients, whether in paid employment or not, referred by General Practitioners from Primary Healthcare Clinics to the four clinics participating in this study. In order to assess the primary and secondary result measures, the patients will be requested to fill in a questionnaire before the randomisation and again at 3, 12 and 48 weeks after starting the treatment. The primary result measure will be the clinical relevant improvement (CRI) at 3 weeks after randomisation. We define CRI as a reduction of 35% or more in the RMQ results. DISCUSSION This study is intended to obtain further evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture on acute low back pain and to isolate the specific and non-specific effects of the treatment.enAcupunturaEnfermedad AgudaTeorema de BayesAnálisis Costo-BeneficioDolor de la región lumbarDimensión del dolorSatisfacción del pacienteMedical Subject Headings::Disciplines and Occupations::Health Occupations::AcupunctureMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms::Pathologic Processes::Disease Attributes::Acute DiseaseMedical Subject Headings::Named Groups::Persons::Age Groups::AdultMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Organic Chemicals::Hydrocarbons::Hydrocarbons, Cyclic::Hydrocarbons, Aromatic::Polycyclic Hydrocarbons, Aromatic::Benzocycloheptenes::Dibenzocycloheptenes::AmitriptylineMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Chemical Actions and Uses::Pharmacologic Actions::Therapeutic Uses::Central Nervous System Agents::AnalgesicsMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Statistics as Topic::Probability::Bayes TheoremMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation::Quality of Health Care::Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms::Epidemiologic Study Characteristics as Topic::Clinical ProtocolsMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Economics and Organizations::Economics::Costs and Cost Analysis::Cost-Benefit AnalysisMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Organic Chemicals::Carboxylic Acids::Acids, Carbocyclic::Phenylacetates::DiclofenacMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::HumansMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Organic Chemicals::Carboxylic Acids::Acids, Carbocyclic::Phenylpropionates::IbuprofenMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms::Signs and Symptoms::Pain::Back Pain::Low Back PainMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Epidemiologic Study Characteristics as Topic::Clinical Trials as Topic::Multicenter Studies as TopicMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Diagnosis::Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures::Diagnostic Techniques, Neurological::Neurologic Examination::Pain MeasurementMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation::Quality of Health Care::Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms::Patient SatisfactionMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Epidemiologic Study Characteristics as Topic::Clinical Trials as Topic::Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic::Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Methods::Research DesignMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Epidemiologic Research Design::Sample SizeMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation::Quality of Health Care::Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms::Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care)::Outcome Assessment (Health Care)::Treatment OutcomeEfficacy and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of non-specific acute low back pain: a randomised controlled multicentre trial protocol [ISRCTN65814467]research article16630342open access10.1186/1472-6882-6-141472-6882