Effect of Electroacupuncture on the Third Lumbar Transverse Process Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Background: The third lumbar transverse process syndrome (TLTP syndrome) is one of the common causes of low back pain. There are few articles relating to TLTP syndrome published in English databases, and these few papers lack standards in outcome measurement. Objective: To compare outcomes for electroacupuncture (EA) vs classical acupuncture. Design and Setting: A prospective, randomized, controlled, patient-blinded clinical trial was conducted at M. Modern Traditional Chinese Medical Clinic in Victoria, Australia. Participants: Eighty patients with TLTP syndrome were entered into the study: 40 patients were randomly allocated to receive EA and 40 patients were randomly assigned to receive classical acupuncture. Intervention: A new method of EA was administered: local acupoints EA using the G6805- I EA stimulator. The other group of 40 patients received classical manual acupuncture. There was only 1 professional acupuncturist involved in all the treatments, using a very restricted unique treatment protocol. Main Outcome Measures: The pressure point pain intensity test, which was conducted by the examiner in an objective manner on each individual, was used to obtain the outcome measurement. This objective method is possibly equivalent to the blinding of assessors. Results: A Ridit analysis was used for this study. At the P < 0.001 level, an overall improvement occurred in 81% of people in the EA group vs an overall improvement in 42% of the control (classical acupuncture) group. Conclusions: The new EA method described in this study is more appropriate relative to other methods as a form of effective treatment for TLTP syndrome. Because a follow-up study could not be completed, prognosis for patients in this study with chronic TLTP syndrome was largely unknown.