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Chronic Low-back PainNCT04833309

Effectiveness and Safety of Pharmacopunture Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial

A study testing pharmacopuncture therapy and physical therapy in people with Chronic Low-back Pain, run by Jaseng Medical Foundation at 4 sites in South Korea.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This is a multi-center, 2-arm parallel pragmatic randomized controlled trial that will compare pharmacopuncture therapy with physical therapy for chronic low back pain. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 19 to 70 years
Conditions the study is for
Chronic Low-back Pain
What is being tested?
pharmacopuncture therapy and physical therapy
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
100 participants
Where
4 sitesSouth Korea
Study dates
10 Jun 2021to 26 Feb 2022
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 19 to 70 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • low back pain for more than 6 months
  • Numeric rating scale (NRS) score for low back pain 5 or more
  • 19-70 years old
  • participants who agreed and signed informed consent form

Who cannot join

  • Spine metastasis of cancer, acute fracture of spine, or spine dislocation
  • Progressive neurologic deficits or severe neurologic deficits
  • Soft tissue diseases that can induce low back pain (ie. cancer, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, etc)
  • Presence of chronic underlying disease which can interfere the efficacy or interpretation (ie. stroke, myocardial infarct, kidney disease, dementia, diabetic neuropathy, epilepsy, etc)
  • Concurrent use of steroids, immunosuppressants, or psychotropic medications
  • Hemorrhagic disease, severe diabetes or taking anticoagulant drug
Show all 12Show fewer
  • Participants who took NSAIDs or pharmacopuncture within 1 week
  • Pregnant or lactating women
  • Participants who had undergone lumbar surgery within 3 months
  • Participants who had participated in other clinical trial within 1 month, or have plan for participation in other trial during follow up period of this trial
  • Participants who can not write informed consent
  • Participants who is difficult to participate in the trial according to investigator's decision

Trial locations and contacts

4 sites in 1 country.

South Korea4 sites

  • Bucheon Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine

    Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, 14598

  • Haeundae Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine

    Busan, 48102

  • Daejeon Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine

    Daejeon, 35262

  • Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine

    Seoul, Gangnam-Gu, 135-896

Other trials in South Korea

About this study

This is a multi-center, 2-arm parallel pragmatic randomized controlled trial that will compare pharmacopuncture therapy with physical therapy for chronic low back pain.

Read the detailed description

This is a multi-center, 2-arm parallel pragmatic randomized controlled trial that will compare pharmacopuncture therapy with physical therapy for chronic low back pain. Participants who voluntarily signed informed consent form and eligible for the study were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio (50:50) for pharmacopuncture therapy group and physical therapy group. Participants of each group will receive total 5 weeks of intervention. This is a pragmatic randomized controlled trial, so physicians will have medical decision making according to each participant's conditions and choose the specific type and volume of pharmacopuncture and physical therapy.

Being tested
pharmacopuncture therapy, physical therapy

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • pharmacopuncture therapyProcedure or surgery

    The procedure will be implemented to participants twice a week for total 5 weeks. The specific prescription including type and dosage will be determined according to the physician's choice, and information will be recorded in the case report form retrospectively.

  • physical therapyProcedure or surgery

    The procedure will be implemented to participants twice a week for total 5 weeks. The specific prescription including type and body part will be determined according to the physician's choice, and information will be recorded in the case report form retrospectively.

Study groups in NCT04833309
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Pharmacopuncture therapyExperimentalPharmacopuncture will be administered to the subjects in the pharmacopuncture therapy group. The physicians will choose the specific type and volume of pharmacopuncture according to participants' conditions.
Receives: Procedure: pharmacopuncture therapy
Physical therapyActive comparatorPhysical therapy will be applied to the subjects in the physical therapy group. The physicians will choose the specific type and volume of pharmacopuncture according to participants' conditions.
Receives: Procedure: physical therapy

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Numeric rating scale (NRS) of low-back pain

    NRS is a pain scale in which the patient indicates their subjective pain as a whole number from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates 'no pain or discomfort' and 10 indicates 'the most severe pain and discomfort imaginable'.

    Measured: week 6

Secondary outcomes (9)

  1. Numeric rating scale (NRS) of low-back pain

    NRS is a pain scale in which the patient indicates their subjective pain as a whole number from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates 'no pain or discomfort' and 10 indicates 'the most severe pain and discomfort imaginable'.

    Measured: week 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 25

  2. Numeric rating scale (NRS) of radiating pain in lower extremities

    NRS is a pain scale in which the patient indicates their subjective pain as a whole number from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates 'no pain or discomfort' and 10 indicates 'the most severe pain and discomfort imaginable'.

    Measured: week 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 25

  3. Visual analogue scale (VAS) of leg radiating pain

    Visual analogue scale of radiating leg pain, minimum 0 to maximum 100, which is a higher score means a worse outcome.

    Measured: week 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 25

  4. Visual analogue scale (VAS) of low-back pain

    Visual analogue scale of radiating leg pain, minimum 0 to maximum 100, which is a higher score means a worse outcome.

    Measured: week 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 25

  5. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI)

    ODI is a functional disability questionnaire. The possible range of each item score is 0 to 5. Total score range is 0 (better outcome) to 100 (worse outcome).

    Measured: week 1, 6, 13, 25

  6. Korean version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ)

    The Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire consists of 24 statements relating to the person's perceptions of their back pain and associated disability. This includes items on physical ability/activity (15), sleep/rest (3), psychosocial (2), household management (2), eating (1) and pain frequency (1). There is no weighting applied to the statements, therefore the score can range from 0 (no disability) to 24 (maximal disability).

    Measured: week 1, 6, 13, 25

  7. Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC)

    Participants rate the improvement after treatment on a 7-point Likert scale (1, very much improved; 2, much improved; 3, minimally improved; 4, no change; 5, minimally worse; 6, much worse; or 7, very much worse.)

    Measured: week 6, 13, 25

  8. Short Form-12 Health Survey version 2 (SF-12 v2)

    The SF-12 consists of 12 questions across 8 domains, and higher scores indicate better health-related quality of life.

    Measured: week 1, 6, 13, 25

  9. EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D-5L)

    The EQ-5D-5L consists of 5 questions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain, anxiety/depression) that ask about the current state of health, and answers each question with 5 likert. (1=I have no problems about, 2=I have slight problems about, 3=I have moderate problems about, 4=I have severe problems about, 5=I am unable to about)

    Measured: week 1, 6, 13, 25

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted6 Apr 2021
  2. Study start10 Jun 2021
  3. Primary completion26 Feb 2022
  4. Study completion26 Feb 2022

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
100 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04833309
Sponsor's protocol ID
JS-CT-2021-02
Status last verified
Dec 2024
First submitted
4 Apr 2021
Last updated
18 Dec 2024
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Lee YS, Kim SJ, Park KS, Lee YJ, Yang C, Han CH, Ha IH. A cost-utility analysis of pharmacopuncture versus physiotherapy for chronic low back pain: A multicenter, pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Integr Med Res. 2025 Dec;14(4):101210. doi: 10.1016/j.imr.2025.101210. Epub 2025 Aug 5.

    PubMed 41497196

  • Park KS, Kim S, Seo JY, Cho H, Lee JY, Lee YJ, Lee J, Kim MJ, Choi YE, Yang CS, Han CH, Ha IH. Effectiveness and Safety of Pharmacopuncture Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Protocol for a Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial. J Pain Res. 2022 Sep 1;15:2629-2639. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S375231. eCollection 2022.

    PubMed 36072909

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing pharmacopuncture therapy and physical therapy in people with Chronic Low-back Pain, run by Jaseng Medical Foundation at 4 sites in South Korea.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 12 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 18 Dec 2024. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 4 sites in South Korea. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Numeric rating scale (NRS) of low-back pain (time frame: week 6). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04833309, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 18 Dec 2024.

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