Xin Tang,1,* Qifu Li,1,* Gaoyangzi Huang,1 Ziwen Chen,2 Ya Huang,1 Xianmei Pei,1 Siwen Zhao,1 Zili Liu,1 Taipin Guo,1 Fanrong Liang2 

1School of Second Clinical Medicine/The Second Affiliated Hospital, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, People’s Republic of China; 2College of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Taipin Guo, School of Second Clinical Medicine/The Second Affiliated Hospital, Kunming, People’s Republic of China, Email gtphncs@126.com Fanrong Liang, College of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China, Email acuresearch@126.com

Purpose: Acute lumbar sprain (ALS) is a common clinical disease characterized by persistent intolerable low back pain and limitation of movement, and quick pain relief and restoration of mobility in a short time are the main needs of patients when they visit the clinic. This study aims to evaluate the immediate efficacy of contralateral acupuncture (CAT) on SI3 combined with active exercise in treating ALS.
Methods and Analysis: This study is a randomized controlled trial which will recruit 118 eligible participants aged 18 to 55 years with ALS at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine between March 2024 and December 2026. Participants will be randomly assigned to the acupuncture group or the sham-acupuncture group in a 1:1 ratio. The acupuncture group will receive a 10-minute acupuncture treatment combined with active exercise, while the sham-acupuncture group will receive a 10-minute sham acupuncture treatment combined with active exercise. Randomization will use a computer-generated sequence with allocation concealed in opaque envelopes. The primary outcome will be the pain visual analogue scale (VAS) scores after 10 minutes of treatment. Secondary outcomes will include the pain VAS scores at other time points (2, 4, 6, and 8 minutes post-treatment), the lumbar range of motion (ROM) scores at various time points, blinded assessment, the treatment effect expectancy scale, and the rescue analgesia rate. The analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle. The primary outcome will be analyzed using ANCOVA, and secondary outcomes with repeated measures ANOVA. The rescue analgesia rate will be assessed using either the χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test.
Discussion: This study is the first randomized controlled trial to assess the immediate efficacy of CAT in combination with active exercise for ALS. This study will provide a simple, rapid, and effective treatment for the clinical management of ALS.

Keywords: acute lumbar sprain, immediate efficacy, contralateral acupuncture, active exercise, randomized controlled trial