World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion最新文献

{"title":"Methodological challenges and recommendations for acupuncture clinical study: A scoping review","authors":"Xiang-yu HU (胡翔昱),&nbsp;Wen-cui XIU (修文萃),&nbsp;Zi-yu TIAN (田紫煜),&nbsp;Rui-min JIAO (焦睿珉),&nbsp;Huan CHEN (陈欢),&nbsp;Xiao-yi HU (胡晓艺),&nbsp;Lan-jun SHI (施兰君),&nbsp;Tian-yu MING (明恬妤),&nbsp;Wei-juan GANG (岗卫娟),&nbsp;Xiang-hong JING (景向红)","doi":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.12.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.12.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Methodological issues and challenges hinder the high-quality development of acupuncture clinical studies.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To systematically summarize the methodological issues, challenges, and recommendations in acupuncture clinical research using the participant, intervention, comparison, outcome, and study design (PICOS) framework to generate a comprehensive list of methodological questions and recommendations.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We searched seven databases for articles on the methodological aspects of clinical acupuncture research from their inception to March 24, 2023. Two researchers independently screened the titles, abstracts, and full text of each article. Data extraction and analyses were performed for the eligible studies. Finally, the methodological challenges and recommendations for acupuncture clinical studies are listed, and the frequency of methodological challenges is displayed in a sunburst chart.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 226 studies were included in the review, most of which originated in China (173, 77 %), followed by the United States (25, 11 %) and the United Kingdom (12, 5 %). Clinical research on acupuncture faces methodological challenges that span the five elements of the PICOS framework. The most frequently mentioned issues were related to comparison, followed by study design and interventions. If further categorized, the establishment of the control group is undoubtedly the most concerning issue for researchers.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This review provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges and recommendations for each aspect of the PICOS framework in clinical acupuncture research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44648,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion","volume":"35 1","pages":"Pages 1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143454112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of direct moxibustion on antigen-presenting cells in gastric tissue of rat models with gastric cancer: Understanding the immunological mechanisms","authors":"Tian-yu GAO (高田宇) ,&nbsp;Fei-cheng ZHANG (张飞程) ,&nbsp;Ru-fang PAN (潘茹芳) ,&nbsp;Shu-ya MA (马舒雅) ,&nbsp;Xiao-qi ZHANG (张晓琪) ,&nbsp;Li-jia PAN (潘丽佳) ,&nbsp;Chun-sheng JIA (贾春生)","doi":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.12.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.12.004","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Objective&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The preventive and therapeutic effects of direct moxibustion on a gastric cancer rat model induced by the intragastric administration of &lt;em&gt;N&lt;/em&gt;-methyl-&lt;em&gt;N&lt;/em&gt;'-nitro-&lt;em&gt;N&lt;/em&gt;-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) were evaluated. Changes in the co-stimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86 on antigen-presenting cells in gastric tissues as well as related cytokines in serum were evaluated. The aim of the study was to explore the immunological mechanisms by which direct moxibustion may prevent gastric cancer lesions, thereby providing a basis for studies on the immunological mechanisms by which moxibustion prevents tumor development.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Sixty healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: Control, control+moxibustion, model, and moxibustion groups. A gastric cancer rat model was induced by intragastric administration of 20 mg/mL MNNG, with a dose of 1 mL/100 g body weight, once daily for 16 weeks. The control+moxibustion and moxibustion groups received direct moxibustion simultaneously with modeling, continuing for 16 weeks. After the experiment, gastric tissue was collected, and morphological changes in the gastric mucosa in each group of rats were observed through H&amp;E staining. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and a western blotting were used to detect the expression levels of CD80 and CD86 in gastric tissues. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to measure the levels of interleukin-12 (IL-12), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor-beta (TNF-β) in rat serum.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Upon macroscopic observation, the gastric mucosa of rats in the control and control+moxibustion groups appeared uniformly red, with a glossy mucosal surface, normal gastric wall elasticity, and clear, regular mucosal folds, without hyperplasia or bleeding points. In the model group, the gastric mucosa was reduced in volume, the gastric wall thinned, elasticity decreased, mucosal folds were disordered, and yellow-white cauliflower-like lesions and yellow-brown hyperkeratosis were observed. In the moxibustion group, the gastric mucosa showed decreased elasticity, with disordered mucosal folds and granular hyperplasia. After H&amp;E staining, the gastric mucosal structure was clear and intact in the control and control+moxibustion groups displaying an organized and uniform arrangement of the mucosa, submucosa, and muscularis propria, without hyperplasia or keratinization. In the model group, the epithelial glands in the gastric mucosa were disordered, with varied cell morphologies, thickened submucosa, and disrupted squamous epithelium that invaded downward into the muscularis propria. In the moxibustion group, the squamous epithelium did not invade the muscularis propria. IHC results showed higher expression levels of CD80 and CD86 in the gastric mucosa of the control+moxibustion group than in the control group (&lt;em&gt;P&lt;/em&gt; &lt; 0.05) and lower expression levels in ","PeriodicalId":44648,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion","volume":"35 1","pages":"Pages 66-74"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143454232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interpretation of SHARE: SHam Acupuncture REporting guidelines and a checklist in clinical trials","authors":"Xiao-yu LIU (刘晓玉) ,&nbsp;Pei-hong MA (马培宏) ,&nbsp;Bao-yan LIU (刘保延) ,&nbsp;Shi-yan YAN (闫世艳)","doi":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.12.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.12.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sham acupuncture, as a control intervention in acupuncture studies, has been widely conducted to evaluate the specific effect of acupuncture. However, there was no relevant particular reporting guideline, so the reporting quality of sham acupuncture was low, which could hinder the precise understanding and interpretation of details and implementation background of sham acupuncture by researchers. In order to standardize the reporting of sham acupuncture and improve its quality, <em>SHam Acupuncture REporting guidelines and a checklist in clinical trials (SHARE)</em> was developed by a research team from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. The SAHRE standardizes the reporting of sham acupuncture from 10 categories, including brief name, rationales, details of sham acupuncture, treatment regimen of sham acupuncture, the information informed or explained to patients, practitioner information, modifications of protocol, communication between practitioner and patient, practitioner adherence and blinding. This article elaborates the development process and key content of SHARE in order to facilitate its application by researchers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44648,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion","volume":"35 1","pages":"Pages 27-31"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143454149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Construction of a pregnancy prediction model in acupuncture treatment for diminished ovarian reserve based on machine learning","authors":"Ming-hui GOU (勾明会) ,&nbsp;Hui-sheng YANG (杨会生) ,&nbsp;Yi-gong FANG (房繄恭)","doi":"10.1016/j.wjam.2025.01.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wjam.2025.01.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To construct a clinical prediction model of acupuncture treatment for diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) based on a machine learning algorithm to provide a clinical prediction of acupuncture for ameliorating pregnancy outcomes in DOR.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We enrolled 377 DOR patients treated with acupuncture and with records of pregnancy outcomes (139 cases of pregnancy and 238 cases failed) exported from the International Patient Registry Platform of Acupuncture-moxibustion (IPRPAM). The predictive variables were determined using Spearman's correlation analysis and feature engineering methods. The model was constructed by adopting logistic regression, naïve Bayes, random forest, support vector machine, extreme gradient boosting, the k-nearest neighbor algorithm, linear discriminant analysis, and neural network methods. The models were validated by the area under the curve (AUC), accuracy (ACC), and importance sequencing, and individual pregnancy prediction was conducted for the best-performing model.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The key factors determining pregnancy after acupuncture in patients with DOR were age, luteinizing hormone (LH) level after treatment, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level after treatment, the ratio of FSH to LH (FSH/LH) after treatment, and history of acupuncture treatment. Random forest model ACC was 0.95, Fβ was 0.93, Logloss was 0.30, Logloss value was the lowest, the model variables exhibited the highest accuracy and precision.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The random forest model for the effects of acupuncture on pregnancy outcomes in patients with DOR, constructed based on the IPRPAM, presents a favorable value for clinical application.</div></div><div><h3>Trial registration: Registration number in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Center</h3><div>ChiCTR2200062293.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44648,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion","volume":"35 1","pages":"Pages 32-40"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143454150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Holistic integrative medicine declaration","authors":"Dai-ming FAN (樊代明)","doi":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.09.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.09.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Holistic integrative medicine, abbreviated as HIM, has been officially proposed since 2012. Its theoretical system has been continuously improved, and its practical methods have become increasingly diverse, becoming an inevitable choice and path for the medical development in the new era. This article demonstrates ten major propositions for HIM, elaborating on the connotation and extension of HIM from the perspectives of epistemology and methodology, in order to achieve the transformation and adaptive evolution of modern medicine.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44648,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion","volume":"34 4","pages":"Pages 332-333"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143157690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Meta-analysis of the efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome","authors":"Dong-mei JIANG(江冬梅) ,&nbsp;Hong LIN(林虹) ,&nbsp;Zhi-feng YU(于志峰) ,&nbsp;Meng WANG(王萌)","doi":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.09.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.09.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture and moxibustion as a complementary treatment for polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) and provide evidence for clinical treatment.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The following seven databases were searched from the date of database creation to October 29, 2023: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China Biology Medicine (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, and VIP. The literature was screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, data were extracted, quality was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool, and a meta-analysis of the outcomes was performed using Review Manager 5.4 software.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 20 researches were included and the test group was treated with modern medicine, acupuncture, electroacupuncture, warm needling, and thunder-fire moxibustion. The control group was treated with modern medicine, including clomiphene, Diane-35, letrozole, metformin, and progesterone. The meta-analysis showed that acupuncture and moxibustion as a complementary therapy for PCOS improved the ovulation and pregnancy rates and reduced the body mass index (BMI), luteinizing hormone (LH) levels, the LH/follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) ratio, and ovarian volume; however, due to high heterogeneity, the differences regarding improvements in FSH, estradiol(E2), testosterone (T) and progesterone (P) levels could not draw a definite conclusion when compared with modern first-line drugs alone.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Acupuncture and moxibustion as a complementary treatment for PCOS has good clinical efficacy; however, because of the relatively low quality of the included studies, the results may be biased. More high-quality clinical studies are needed to verify the results. The Prospero Registration number is CRD42022368304.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44648,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion","volume":"34 4","pages":"Pages 282-291"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143157674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Research progress on the mechanism of acupuncture in the treatment of secondary brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage","authors":"Jing-wen TIAN (田静文) ,&nbsp;Bo SUN (孙波) ,&nbsp;Xiao-xiao ZHANG (张晓晓) ,&nbsp;Ying KONG (孔莹)","doi":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.09.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.09.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intracerebral hemorrhage is a major cause of death in humans, with high morbidity, mortality, and disability rates. Secondary brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage is a consequence of brain edema and neurological dysfunction. Acupuncture is markedly effective against secondary brain injury, and various mechanisms are involved in its action, such as inhibition of inflammatory cascades, inhibition of oxidative stress, attenuation of brain edema, inhibition of nerve cell death, and regulation of neural plasticity. This paper summarizes the mechanism underlying the effects of acupuncture on secondary brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage in recent years to provide new ideas for subsequent research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44648,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion","volume":"34 4","pages":"Pages 277-281"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143157676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Research progress on the mechanism of acupuncture treatment for vascular dementia","authors":"Wei SUN (孙玮) ,&nbsp;Ying-hua CHEN (陈英华) ,&nbsp;Tong-yan LIU (刘同岩) ,&nbsp;Xiao-qing SU (苏晓庆) ,&nbsp;Rui-qi QIN (秦瑞琦)","doi":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.06.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.06.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Acupuncture can intervene with and treat vascular dementia (VD) through multiple targets and pathways. The mechanisms of its action involve inhibiting central inflammatory responses, regulating neuronal synaptic plasticity, modulating oxidative stress, reducing neuronal apoptosis, and adjusting cellular autophagy. This paper summarizes researches on the mechanisms of acupuncture treatment for VD over the past decade, aiming to provide theoretical support for the clinical application of acupuncture in treating VD and offer a reference for future in-depth research in this field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44648,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion","volume":"34 4","pages":"Pages 270-276"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143157677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“Scapular heat penetration” technique of acupuncture in treatment of scapulohumeral periarthritis: An exploratory research","authors":"Shuo-quan RUAN (阮铄荃),&nbsp;Shu-ren MING (明树人),&nbsp;Chao-nan LI (李超楠),&nbsp;Jin-chuan RAN (冉津川),&nbsp;Bing-li CHEN (陈炳力),&nbsp;Wen SHU (舒文),&nbsp;Ting-ting DUAN (段婷婷),&nbsp;Wen-guang HOU (侯文光)","doi":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.09.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.09.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To observe the clinical effect of “scapular heat penetration” technique of acupuncture in treatment of scapulohumeral periarthritis.</div></div><div><h3>Design</h3><div>It was a single-central randomized controlled trial, the participants, outcome assessors and statisticians were blinded.</div></div><div><h3>Setting</h3><div>The trial was undertaken in Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, from June 2021 to January 2022.</div></div><div><h3>Participants</h3><div>Sixty-seven patients with scalpulohumeral periarthritis were participated.</div></div><div><h3>Interventions</h3><div>In the control group, the routine acupuncture was given, while in the trial group, the “scapular heat penetration” technique of acupuncture was adopted. The intervention was delivered once every two days, 3 treatments a week; and one course included 9 treatments. Before the 1st treatment and after the 9th treatment, the symptoms and physical signs were observed and recorded in each group.</div></div><div><h3>Outcomes</h3><div>Primary outcome: the score of visual analogy scale (VAS) before treatment and after treatment completion. Secondary outcomes: the range of movement (ROM) of shoulder joint, the score of Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) of shoulder joint and the infrared thermal imaging temperature around the shoulder.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 102 cases were collected, 72 cases of them were eligible and 5 cases were withdrawn. Sixty-seven cases were included in analysis. In the within-group comparison, VAS score, ROM and JOA score as well as the shoulder temperature were all ameliorated after 9 treatments in either the trial group or the control group, compared with those before treatment (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). In the comparison between two groups, after 9 treatments, VAS score in the trial group was lower than that of the control group (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05); and the improvements in ROM and shoulder temperature in the trial group were better than those of the control group (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). No adverse reactions were found in the two groups.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Both the “scapular heat penetration” technique of acupuncture and the conventional acupuncture are effective on scapulohumeral periarthritis. But, regarding the improvements in pain, ROM of shoulder joint, the activity of daily life and shoulder temperature, the “scapular heat penetration” technique of acupuncture is superior to the conventional acupuncture.</div></div><div><h3>Registration number</h3><div>ChiCTR1900025505</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44648,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion","volume":"34 4","pages":"Pages 306-311"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143157672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain in middle-aged and older patients: A randomized controlled trial","authors":"Fei XU (徐飞) ,&nbsp;Kai-qiong JIAO (矫楷琼) ,&nbsp;Lin-peng WANG (王麟鹏) ,&nbsp;Fan ZHANG (张帆)","doi":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.09.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wjam.2024.09.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To observe the specific effects of acupuncture in middle-aged and older patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNSLBP).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Sixty-six patients with CNSLBP were randomized into the acupuncture or sham acupuncture groups (n = 33). In the acupuncture group, penetrating acupuncture with a long needle was delivered at <em>Ashi</em> points (painful/sensitive points), and the needles were manipulated by rotating technique after <em>deqi</em> till patients felt distending pain. The needles were retained in place for 30 min. Acupuncture was given three times per week for 4 weeks. In the sham acupuncture group, shallow needling was performed at non-meridian, non-acupoint, non-painful, and non-sensitive points. The needle retention and duration of treatment were the same as those of the acupuncture group before treatment, after the first intervention, after the whole treatment, and in follow-up visit (4 weeks after the whole treatment). The scores of the visual analog scale(VAS) for pain, range of movement (ROM) of the spine, and simplified Oswestry Dysfunction Index (ODI) were observed separately.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared to the outcomes before treatment, the VAS score, spinal ROM, and simplified ODI score were lower after the first intervention, after treatment, and in follow-up visits in the acupuncture group, indicating the statistical significance (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). When compared with the sham acupuncture group, the VAS score, spinal ROM, and simplified ODI score were significantly lower in the acupuncture group after the first intervention, after treatment, and in follow-up visit (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). The total effective rate was 90.9% in the acupuncture group, which was significantly higher than that (75.76 %) in the sham acupuncture group (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Acupuncture has a specific effect on CNSLBP in middle-aged and older patients and a superior effect on immediate analgesia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":44648,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion","volume":"34 4","pages":"Pages 300-305"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143157673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}