Relaxing Effects of Acupuncture, Sham Acupuncture or no Acupuncture
- Conditions
- Healthy Volunteers
- Interventions
- Device: Genuine acupuncture (A)Device: Sham acupuncture (B)Other: Rest
- Registration Number
- NCT03441698
- Lead Sponsor
- Västernorrland County Council, Sweden
- Brief Summary
Background: The communication between a patient and clinician may have significant effects on treatment outcomes and one likely mediator of the communication-related treatment effects is patient expectations, as demonstrated by placebo studies in various clinical domains. To investigate the link between patient-clinician interactions and patient expectancy in a clinical setting, acupuncture is suggested an effective method, as acupuncture is a procedure with known non-specific treatment components. As a scene for investigating the importance of expectations on treatment outcomes, the investigators used acupuncture for relaxation effects. It is commonly reported that participants experience a sense of relaxation during acupuncture treatment, yet, it is not known if the effects are related to the specific effects of needling or non-specific effects associated with the treatment procedure.
Aim: To investigate if communication type (positive or neutral) about the expected treatment outcome affected i) participants' expectations, ii) short-term relaxation effects in response to genuine or sham acupuncture or to rest, and to investigate if treatment expectations were related to outcome.
Procedure: Volunteers, i.e. Swedish individuals in general, not part of any specific patient group, are given written and oral study information and are screened for study criteria. The volunteers giving informed consent are randomized to one treatment session a´30 minutes with a) genuine acupuncture or b) sham acupuncture (telescopic non-penetrating needles).
They are compared to a non-randomized reference group that receive no acupuncture, just 30 minutes of rest.
Within the three groups, participants are randomized to 1) positive communication or 2) neutral communication from therapists, regarding expected treatment effects.
Outcome measures: Visual analogue scales (VAS) (0-100 millimeter) measured treatment expectations and relaxation, at baseline two hours before the treatment session, pre treatment (directly before the treatment session) and post treatment (directly after the treatment session). Heart rate, blood pressure, and salivary cortisol are measured pre and post treatment. Primary endpoint is change in relaxation pre to post treatment.
- Detailed Description
Background: The communication between a patient and clinician may have significant effects on treatment outcomes and one likely mediator of the communication-related treatment effects is patient expectations, as demonstrated by placebo studies in various clinical domains. To investigate the link between patient-clinician interactions and patient expectancy in a clinical setting, acupuncture is suggested an effective method, as acupuncture is a procedure with known non-specific treatment components. As a scene for investigating the importance of expectations on treatment outcomes, the investigators used acupuncture for relaxation effects. It is commonly reported that participants experience a sense of relaxation during acupuncture treatment, yet, it is not known if the effects are related to the specific effects of needling or non-specific effects associated with the treatment procedure.
Aim: To investigate if communication type (positive or neutral) about the expected treatment outcome affected i) participants' expectations, ii) short-term relaxation effects in response to genuine or sham acupuncture or to rest, and to investigate if treatment expectations were related to outcome.
Procedure: Volunteers, i.e. Swedish individuals in general, not part of any specific patient group, are given written and oral study information and are screened for study criteria. The volunteers giving informed consent are blinded randomized, by use of a computerized random table, to one treatment session a´30 minutes with a) genuine manual acupuncture delivered to the traditional acupuncture point PC6 or b) sham acupuncture delivered to a sham acupuncture point at the double distance to the wrist compared to the PC6, using telescopic non-penetrating needles. The acupuncture treatments (genuine or sham) was given by one of nine physiotherapists.
They are compared to a non-randomized reference group that receive no acupuncture, just a treatment of 30 minutes of rest, given by one of three physiotherapists according to a standardized treatment protocol.
Within the three groups (genuine acupuncture, sham acupuncture or no acupuncture, just rest), the participants are randomized to 1) positive communication or 2) neutral communication from therapists according to a standardized treatment protocol, regarding expected treatment effects.
The participants are blinded to type of acupuncture and communication type. The investigator entering data is blinded to treatment type and communication type. The evaluator is blinded to treatment type and communication type.
Outcome measures: Visual analogue scales (VAS) (0-100 millimeter) measure treatment expectations and level of relaxation, muscle tensions and stress at baseline two hours before the treatment session, pre treatment (directly before the treatment session) and post treatment (directly after the treatment session). Heart rate, blood pressure, and salivary cortisol are measured pre and post treatment. Primary endpoint is change in level of relaxation pre to post treatment.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 363
- minimum age 18 years,
- physical, mental and linguistic capacity to give informed consent, e.g. understand Swedish
- previous education in acupuncture therapy, in terms of being an acupuncture therapist.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- FACTORIAL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Genuine acupuncture (A) Genuine acupuncture (A) Genuine acupuncture (A) with neutral communication (A1) or positive communication (A2) Sham Acupuncture (B) Sham acupuncture (B) Sham acupuncture (B) with neutral communication (B1) or positive communication (B2) Rest (C) Rest Rest (C) with neutral communication (C1) or positive communication (C2)
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in relaxation from pre to post treatment. Directly before treatment and directly after treatment. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 0-100 mm, where 0 is "not relaxed at all" and 100 is "completely relaxed".
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method The participant´s Health status Two hours before treatment Euro Qol barometer, 0-100 mm, where 0 represents "worst Health imaginable" and 100 "best Health imaginable"
Change in systolic Blood pressure in mm Hg Directly before treatment and directly after treatment Digital wrist blood pressure monitor
Change in treatment expectations Two hours before treatment, directly before and directly after treatment Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 0-100 mm, where 0 represents "expects treatment to have no effect" and 100 represents "expects treatment to have full effect".
Change in diastolic Blood pressure in mm Hg Directly before treatment and directly after treatment Digital wrist blood pressure monitor
Change in Heart rate in beats per minute Directly before treatment and directly after treatment Digital wrist blood pressure monitor