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Can acupuncture help when pain pills fail? new study tests ancient remedy for spine disease

NCT ID NCT03420404

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing This study
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

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.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

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

140 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Mar 2018

Expected to finish

Dec 2025

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

21 to 100 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

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.

Axial Spondyloarthritis spondyloarthropathy

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Singapore General Hospital

    Singapore, Singapore, 169608, Singapore

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.