Evaluating Auricular Point Acupressure for Chronic Low Back Pain Self-Management Using Technology: A Feasibility...

Area of Science:

• Integrative medicine
• Digital health
• Pain management

Background:

• Chronic low back pain (cLBP) significantly impacts individuals and society, with guidelines recommending nonpharmacologic therapies and self-management.
• Implementing these strategies can be challenging for patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of a mobile app for auricular point acupressure (APA) as a self-guided tool for managing cLBP.
• To compare cLBP outcomes between an app-only group and an app plus telehealth group.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental, mixed-methods design was used over 4 weeks.
• Participants used an APA mobile app and an APA kit for self-administration.
• Two groups were compared: app-only (Phase 1) and app plus telehealth (Phase 2, conducted remotely).

Main Results:

• High adherence (85%-94%) to APA practice was observed.
• The app plus telehealth group showed greater improvements: 35% reduction in pain intensity and 39% in physical function at 1-month follow-up.
• The app-only group also showed improvements, though slightly less pronounced.

Conclusions:

• Self-administering APA via a mobile app is feasible for cLBP management, with or without telehealth support.
• Telehealth significantly enhanced the effectiveness of the APA mobile app intervention for cLBP self-management.
• The findings present a promising digital health intervention for chronic pain.