Acupuncture for Pre-Procedure Anxiety

Not Applicable

Terminated

Brief Summary: It is common for patients undergoing spinal injections to report anxiety prior to the injection. Although sedation, general anesthesia, and medications can be used to reduce anxiety, the use of sedative agents during the procedure can increase the risk of spinal cord injury. The purpose of this study is to see if receiving acupuncture before a spinal injection can effectively reduce patients' anxiety. Only patients who are scheduled to receive a spinal injection at this institution will be eligible for the study.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Unable to provide consent
Contraindications to acupuncture (e.g., rash, skin infection, sensory loss in ear)
Previous experience of acupuncture
Age <18
Pregnant women
Non-English or Non-Spanish speaking

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Shen Men acupuncture	Epidural injection	Single acupuncture needles will be placed bilaterally onto the patient's Shen Men acupuncture point in the ear for a duration of 20 minutes.
Shen Men acupuncture	Shen Men acupuncture	Single acupuncture needles will be placed bilaterally onto the patient's Shen Men acupuncture point in the ear for a duration of 20 minutes.
Sham acupuncture	Epidural injection	Single acupuncture needles will be placed bilaterally onto a sham location in the ear for a duration of 20 minutes.
Simulated acupuncture	Epidural injection	Acupuncture will be simulated with a paper clip.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Anxiety	Up to 30 min post-acupuncture intervention	Change in anxiety from baseline (pre-acupuncture intervention) will be measured using the State subscale of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The STAI is a psychological inventory based on a 4-point Likert scale and consists of 40 questions on a self-report basis. The STAI is one of the first tests to assess both state and trait anxiety separately. Each type of anxiety has its own scale of 20 different questions that are scored. Scores range from 20 to 80, with higher scores correlating with greater anxiety. Low scores indicate a mild form of anxiety whereas median scores indicate a moderate form of anxiety and high scores indicate a severe form of anxiety. The 4-point scale for S-anxiety is as follows: 1.) not at all, 2.) somewhat, 3.) moderately so, 4.) very much so. The 4-point scale for T-anxiety is as follows: 1.) almost never, 2.) sometimes, 3.) often, 4.) almost always.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Anxiety Medication Use	Up to 30 min post-acupuncture intervention.	Any use of medication use following the acupuncture intervention and before the epidural injection will be documented.
Belief of Acupuncture	Up to 30 min post-acupuncture intervention	Patients will be asked "On a scale of 0-10, how much do you believe acupuncture to be a valid treatment for anxiety?" (0=do not believe at all; 10=fully believe)