Can acupuncture help when pain pills fail? new study tests ancient remedy for spine disease
NCT ID NCT03420404
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether adding acupuncture to usual care can reduce spinal pain in people with axial spondyloarthritis who did not get relief from NSAIDs. About 140 adults in Singapore will either receive standard rheumatology care or standard care plus acupuncture. The main goal is to compare pain scores after 6 weeks, with follow-ups up to 24 weeks.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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140 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Mar 2018
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2025
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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21 to 100 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * 21 years of age or older * Have AxSpA, diagnosed according to the 2009 Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) criteria * Have active disease based on Bath AS Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) score ≥4 on a 11-point Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and spinal pain score ≥4 on a 11-point NRS * Has failed 2 sequential NSAIDs (including COX-2 inhibitor) at maximal tolerated doses for ≥ 4 weeks * No biologic therapy (i.e tumour necrosis factor blocker or anti-interleukin 17) within the past three months * Patient who is on current treatment with concomitant methotrexate (MTX) or sulfasalazine (SSZ) at study entry must be on the drug for ≥12 weeks and at stable dose for ≥4 weeks prior to randomisation. Patients who are on non-biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) other than methotrexate or sulfasalazine must discontinue the DMARD 4 weeks prior to randomisation, except for leflunomide, which has to be discontinued for 8 weeks prior to randomization unless a cholestyramine washout has been performed. Patients taking systemic corticosteroids have to be on stable dose of ≤ 10mg/day prednisolone or equivalent for at least two weeks before randomisation Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnant or breastfeeding women * On anti-platelet agents (i.e. aspirin, clopidogrel, dipyridamole, etc) and anti-coagulants (i.e. warfarin, enoxaparin, rivaroxaban, dabigatran, etc) * Have bleeding disorders * Have blood-borne communicable diseases (e.g. hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human immunodeficiency virus, etc).
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Singapore General Hospital
Singapore, Singapore, 169608, Singapore
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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