title: Auricular point acupressure to manage chronic low back pain in older adults: a randomized controlled pilot study.
abstract: This prospective, randomized clinical trial (RCT) pilot study was designed to (1) assess the feasibility and tolerability of an easily administered, auricular point acupressure (APA) intervention and (2) provide an initial assessment of effect size as compared to a sham treatment. Thirty-seven subjects were randomized to receive either the real or sham APA treatment. All participants were treated once a week for 4 weeks. Self-report measures were obtained at baseline, weekly during treatment, at end-of-intervention (EOI), and at a 1-month follow-up. A dropout rate of 26% in the real APA group and 50% in the sham group was observed. The reduction in worst pain from baseline to EOI was 41% for the real and 5% for the sham group with a Cohen's effect size of 1.22 (P < 0.00). Disability scores on the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) decreased in the real group by 29% and were unchanged in the sham group (+3%) (P < 0.00). Given the high dropout rate, results must be interpreted with caution; nevertheless, our results suggest that APA may provide an inexpensive and effective complementary approach for the management of back pain in older adults, and further study is warranted.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, 3500 Victoria Street, 440 Victoria Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Chao Hsing
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5326-6660
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Veterans Administration, Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, 230 McKee Place Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Natalia E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Morone
authors.affiliation: Division of Biostatistics, University of Texas, School of Public Health at San Antonio Regional Campus and Research to Advance Community Health Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Regional Campus, 7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 1050 Room 505, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
authors.forename: Lung-Chang
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4515-0080
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Fudan University, 305 Fenglin Road, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yuling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Fudan University, 305 Fenglin Road, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Huijuan
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3028-5177
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Suzhou Health College, No. 28 Kehua Road Northern District of Suzhou International Education Park, Suzhou, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, 3500 Victoria Street, 440 Victoria Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Leah
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2210-0403
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Margolis
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, 3500 Victoria Street, 440 Victoria Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Shreya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhatnagar
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, 3500 Victoria Street, 440 Victoria Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0651-4208
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, 3500 Victoria Street, 440 Victoria Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Zhan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Glick
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Lorna Kwai-Ping
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Suen