Can herbs beat back pain? new study seeks answers

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Individuals experiencing low back pain for more than 3 months. * Low back pain Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score of 5 or higher. * Aged 19 years or older and younger than 70 years. * Individuals who voluntarily agree to participate in the clinical study and provide written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Diagnosed with serious underlying conditions that may cause low back or radiating leg pain (e.g., spinal metastases, acute fractures, or vertebral dislocations). * Presence of progressive neurological deficits or severe neurological symptoms. * Pain primarily caused by non-spinal soft tissue conditions (e.g., tumors, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, gout). * Presence of other chronic diseases that may interfere with the treatment outcomes or their interpretation (e.g., stroke, myocardial infarction, kidney disease, diabetic neuropathy, dementia, epilepsy). * Currently taking steroids, immunosuppressants, psychiatric medications, or other drugs that may affect study outcomes. * Contraindications to acupuncture treatment or conditions making acupuncture unsafe: bleeding disorders, current anticoagulant therapy, or severe diabetes with high risk of infection. * Contraindications to herbal medicine or conditions making its use unsafe: disorders or post-surgical conditions affecting drug absorption, severe hepatic or renal disease (AST, ALT, γ-GTP, or serum creatinine more than twice the upper normal limit at screening). * Use of pain-altering medications such as Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) or receipt of acupuncture treatment within 1 week prior to screening. * Pregnant or breastfeeding women, or those planning pregnancy. * Patients who underwent lumbar spine surgery within the last 3 months. * Participation in another clinical trial within 1 month prior to screening, or plans to participate in another clinical trial during this study or within 6 months of screening. * Difficulty in providing written informed consent. * Any other condition judged by the investigator to make participation in the study inappropriate.