Alternation of Topical Heat and Cold for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial^※

Article information

Acupunct. 2016;33(2):77-87

doi : https://doi.org/10.13045/acupunct.2016018

Young Doo Choi ¹, Su Jeong Jo ¹, Chan Yung Jung ², Kap Sung Kim ¹, Seung Deok Lee ¹^,

¹Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion, Dongguk University Ilsan International Hospital

²College of Korean Medicine, Dongguk University

^*Corresponding author: Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion, Dongguk University Ilsan International Hospital, 27, Dongguk-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 410-773, Republic of Korea, Tel: +82-31-961-9124, E-mail: chuckman@dongguk.edu

Received 2016 May 10; Revised 2016 May 29; Accepted 2016 June 01.

Abstract

Objectives:

This is a pilot study for a large randomized controlled trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of a newly developed contrast therapy device–alternating topical heat and cold – for patients with chronic low back pain. The main objective of this study is to confirm the feasibility of the study design

Methods:

The design was a randomized, 2-arm parallel-group single-blind placebo controlled trial. Patients in each group received real or sham contrast therapy in an acupuncture point 10 times over four weeks. The primary outcome measure was pain intensity on a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS). The secondary outcomes were back-related dysfunction based on the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) the Roland-Morris disability questionnaire (RMDQ) and range of motion of lumbar spine based on the modified Schober test (mSchober test), Finger-to-Floor distance (FTF distance), and Finger-to-Thigh distraction (FTT distraction).

Results:

A total of 30 subjects with chronic low back pain were randomly assigned to a contrast therapy group (n = 15) or a sham group (n = 15). A repeated-measures analysis of variance showed statistically significant group time interaction for VAS, RMDQ, mSchober test and FTF distance (p<0.05). The treatment group showed significant improvement in pain intensity and functional disability as compared to the sham group.

Conclusion:

Contrast therapy may be an effective and safe treatment for chronic low back pain.

Keywords: Chronic low back pain; Contrast therapy; Alternation of heat and cold; Randomized Clinical Trial

Fig. 1

The device used in this study

Fig. 2

Flow diagram describing the patients during the study period

Table 1

Total Number and The Reason of Drop-out

Table 2

Baseline Demographic Characteristics of Participants

Table 3

Outcome Measures of Pain Intensity, Disability and Range of Motion

Notes

^※

This study was supported by the traditional Korean medicine R&D program funded by the ministry of Health & Welfare through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) (HI11C2135)

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Article information Continued

Fig. 1

The device used in this study

Fig. 2

Flow diagram describing the patients during the study period

Table 1

Total Number and The Reason of Drop-out

	Treatment group	Sham group
Total drop-out
Total No of patients	17	15
No of drop-out	2	0
Drop-out due to
side effects	0	0
withdrawn consent	2	0
special event	0	0

Table 2

Baseline Demographic Characteristics of Participants

Characteristics	All Patients (n = 30)	Treatment group (n = 15)	Sham group (n = 15)	p-value
Sex
Female, n (%)	28 (93.3)	15 (100)	13 (86.7)
Male, n (%)	2 (6.7)	0 (0)	2 (13.3)	0.483^*
Age, years	54.3 ± 13.9	58.5 ± 14.5	50.1 ± 12.4	0.10^†
BMI, Kg/m²	22.9 ± 2.5	23.5 ± 1.9	22.4 ± 3.0	0.26^†
VAS score, mm	68.7 ± 11.6	70.5 ± 10.3	66.9 ± 12.9	0.40^†
ODI score	24.8 ± 9.5	23.1 ± 11.6	26.5 ± 6.8	0.33^†
RMDQ score	4.9 ± 3.7	5.7 ± 4.4	4.1 ± 2.7	0.41^‡
mSchober test, cm	20.9 ± 1.2	20.9 ± 1.2	20.9 ± 1.2	1 0^†
FTF distance, mm	222.7 ± 114.1	185.2 ± 114.7	260.2 ± 104.0	0.07^†
FTT distraction, mm	634.4 ± 35.6	625.2 ± 33.2	643.6 ± 36.6	0.16^†
BMI: Body Mass Index

BMI: Body Mass Index.

VAS: 100mm Visual Analogue Scale.

ODI: Oswestry Disability Index.

RMDQ: Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire.

mSchober test: Modified Schober test.

FTF distance: Finger-to-floor distance.

FTT distraction: Finger-to-thigh distraction.

Note: Values are mean ± SD (Standard deviation).

Fisher’s Exact Test.

^†

Student’s t-test.

^‡

Mann-Whitney U-test.

Table 3

Outcome Measures of Pain Intensity, Disability and Range of Motion

	Treatment Group	Sham Group	Group Difference^†	Time Difference^†	Group × Time Difference^†

	n = 15	n = 15
VAS score
Baseline			0.0381^*	<0.0001^*	0.0034^*
Mean (SD)	70.47 (10.29)	66.87 (12.86)
2-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	34.73 (15.39)	46.53 (19.10)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	<0.000	0.0015^*

4-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	18.07 (12.65)	37.67 (21.15)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	<0.0001^*	0.0002^*

Change of 2 vs 4 week^§	0.0001^*	0.0032^*

ODI score
Baseline			0.0675	0.0002^*	0.1558
Mean (SD)	23.11 (11.60)	26.53 (6.81)
2-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	18.67 (5.01)	22.97 (11.01)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	0.0460^*	0.0498^*

4-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	14.95 (5.35)	23.27 (10.29)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	0.0017^*	0.0228^*

Change of 2 vs 4 week^§	0.0025^*	0.5761

RMDQ score
Baseline			0.5151	0.0200^*	0.0002^*
Mean (SD)	5.67 (4.43)	4.13 (2.67)
2-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	3.8 (2.86)	4.47 (2.45)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	0.0035^*	0.7331

4-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	2.2 (1.66)	4.87 (2.64)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	0.0036^*	0.8581

Change of 2 vs 4 week^§	0.0068^*	0.9056

mSchober score
Baseline			0.1078	0.0223^*	0.0054^*
Mean (SD)	20.92 (1.22)	20.92 (1.24)
2-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	21.16 (1.17)	20.19 (1.23)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	0.1932	0.9940

4-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	21.67 (1.40)	20.65 (1.06)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	0.0092^*	0.9793

Change of 2 vs 4 week^§	0.0218^*	0.0455^*

FTF score
Baseline			0.0005^*	0.0527	0.0056^*
Mean (SD)	185.23 (114.70)	260.17 (104.02)
2-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	133.73 (88.64)	259.63 (101.11)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	0.0031^*	0.4863

4-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	114.47 (67.97)	274.2 (73.11)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	0.0016^*	0.7211

Change of 2 vs 4 week^§	0.0233^*	0.7586

FTT score
Baseline			0.1684	0.3239	0.9078
Mean (SD)	625.2 (33.22)	643.6 (36.61)
2-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	625.77 (38.19)	650.2 (34.93)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	0.5379	0.7209

4-week follow-up
Mean (SD)	616.23 (35.57)	633.1 (86.47)
Mean (SD)
p-value^‡	0.1185	0.2870

Change of 2 vs 4 week^§	0.0162^*	0.2127

Statistically significant at p<0.05

^†

p-value obtained from RMANOVA

^‡

Statistical analysis within group was performed by one-tailed paired t-test

^§

Statistical analysis change from baseline to 2-weeks and to 4-weeks was performed by one-tailed paired two sample t-test