Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026
04:28
Warm Moxibustion and Scraping as a Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapy for Cervical Spondylosis Treatment
Published on: June 27, 2025
Acupuncture for chronic neck pain: a pilot for a randomised controlled trial
Gemma C Salter1, Mark Roman, Martin J Bland
1Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK. g.salter@ich.ucl.ac.uk <g.salter@ich.ucl.ac.uk>
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
|December 13, 2006
Summary
This pilot study on acupuncture for chronic neck pain found that a large-scale trial would require approximately 229 patients per group. The findings will help clarify evidence for acupuncture effectiveness.
Area of Science:
- Pain Management
- Integrative Medicine
- Clinical Trial Design
Background:
- Chronic neck pain is a common condition with inconclusive evidence regarding acupuncture's efficacy.
- Further well-designed research is needed to establish acupuncture's role in managing neck pain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial for acupuncture in chronic neck pain.
- To determine key design features for a future large-scale trial.
Main Methods:
- Patients with GP-diagnosed neck pain were randomized to usual care or acupuncture plus usual care (up to 10 treatments).
- The primary outcome was the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) at 3 months.
- Sample size calculation for a full-scale study was the primary analysis.
Main Results:
- A sample size of 229 patients per arm is estimated for a large-scale trial, accounting for a 14% loss to follow-up.
- This requires recruiting from GP practices with a total population of 230,000 or approximately 15 practices.
- The adjusted standard deviation for NPQ was 15.3% for a clinically meaningful difference of 5%.
Conclusions:
- This pilot study provides essential recommendations for designing a large-scale trial on acupuncture for chronic neck pain.
- The findings will contribute to clarifying the existing evidence base for this treatment modality.
