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. 2024 Mar 1:17:817-825.
doi: 10.2147/JPR.S450589. eCollection 2024.

The Emotion Regulation of Acupuncture in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Neuroimaging Protocol

Peng Lai  1   2 , Shirui Cheng  1   2 , Xingyao Chen  1 , Fangdong Cheng  3   4   5 , Jun Cheng  3   4   5 , Ming Xin  3   4   6 , Deliang Zhu  3   4   6 , Zhengjie Li  1   2 , Xi Wu  1 , Fang Zeng  1   2
Affiliations

The Emotion Regulation of Acupuncture in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Neuroimaging Protocol

Peng Lai et al. J Pain Res. .

Abstract

Introduction: Acupuncture is effective for patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP), which can relieve pain intensity and regulate negative emotional states such as pain-related anxiety and depression. Previous studies mainly discuss the analgesic mechanism of acupuncture treatment of CLBP, but there are multiple dimensions to pain, including sensation, emotion and cognition. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the central mechanism of acupuncture for CLBP from the perspective of emotional regulation by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Methods and analysis: A total of 72 patients with CLBP will be recruited in the study and randomly assigned to the verum acupuncture group or the sham acupuncture group. The trail will last for 18 weeks including a 2-week baseline, a 4-week treatment and a 12-week for follow-up period. The primary outcomes are the visual analog scale (VAS) and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores (JOA) score. The secondary outcomes are the 12-item short form health survey (SF-12), the state trait anxiety inventory (STAI), the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS). The VAS, JOA, STAI SAS and SDS will be collected at baseline, week 2, week 4, and after follow-up. The SF-12 will be evaluated at baseline, week 2 and week 4. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data will be collected at baseline and the end of treatment. Emotion-related brain regions will be chosen as regions of interest (ROIs). The gray matter volume (GMV), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), functional connectivity (FC), and large-scale functional brain network based on these ROIs will be analyzed within and between the two groups.

Discussion: This study will verify the emotional regulation of acupuncture and explore the mechanism of acupuncture for emotion regulation in patients with CLBP.

Trial registration number: https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=195486, identifier: ChiCTR2300070557.

Keywords: acupuncture; chronic low back pain; emotion regulation; functional magnetic resonance imaging.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flowchart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Locations of acupoints. Shenshu (BL23): On the back, 1.5 cun lateral to the lower border of the spinous process of the 2nd lumbar vertebra. Dachangshu (BL25): On the back, 1.5 cun lateral to the lower border of the spinous process of the 4th lumbar vertebra. Mingmen (GV4): In the lumbar region, on the posterior median line, in the depression below the spinous process of the 2nd lumbar vertebra. Yaoyangguan (GV3): On the lumbar region, on the posterior median line, in the depression below the spinous process of the 4th lumbar vertebra. Yaoyan (EX-B7): On the lower back, in the depression 3.5 cun lateral to the lower border of the spinous process of the 1st lumbar vertebra.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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