Can electroacupuncture soothe back pain without drugs?

NCT ID NCT06703671

Symptom relief Sponsor: Beijing Hospital Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 2 times

Summary

This study tests whether electroacupuncture (acupuncture with mild electric pulses) can safely reduce pain and improve function in people with disc-related low back pain. 240 adults will be randomly assigned to receive either real or sham electroacupuncture over 4 weeks, then followed for up to 24 weeks. The goal is to see if this non-drug approach offers real relief compared to a placebo-like procedure.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: electroacupuncture
What this could lead to: If it works, this could provide a safe, non-drug option for managing discogenic low back pain.
What could go wrong: This is a mid-sized trial comparing electroacupuncture to a sham procedure, so any benefit may be due to placebo. The treatment is not a cure and may not help everyone.

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

About 240 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Mar 2025

Expected to finish

Jun 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

A government agency

The lead sponsor is a government body.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 70 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: 1. It meets the diagnostic criteria of discogenic low back pain 2. Betweening 18 and 70 years of age (both 18 and 70) and of either sex 3. Visual analog score (VAS) for low back pain ≥40 mm within the last 1 month Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients with symptoms such as lower limb numbness, weakness and claudication as shown by lumbar disc herniation pressing the spinal nerve on imaging 2. Lumbar tuberculosis, tumor, infection, spinal fracture, lumbar spondylolisthesis, severe osteoporosis 3. Patients with a history of spinal and intervertebral disc surgery 4. Patients with rheumatism, rheumatoid disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, hematopoietic system, endocrine system and psychiatric diseases 5. Patients who have received radiofrequency, minimally invasive, ozone, small needle-knife, acupuncture, manipulation, traction, block therapy and other clinical trials within the last 1 month 6. Patients with severe needle fainting intolerance 7. Women who are pregnant, planning pregnancy or breastfeeding 8. People with a history of opioid analgesics, sedatives and hypnotics and alcohol abuse 9. Patients who plan to undergo acupuncture, massage, traction and other treatments related to this disease and other clinical research trials within 3 months of participating in the study 10. Patients with skin damage or infection, concomitant bleeding tendency, tumor metastasis, serious heart disease, or embedded pacemaker

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As listed by the trial registrant

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

Discogenic low back pain

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
The official record

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A doctor treating you

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Can electroacupuncture soothe back pain without drugs?

What the study statuses mean