Electroacupuncture as a Complement to Usual Care for Patients With Non-acute Pain After Back Surgery

Inclusion criteria

• Patients whose low back pain persisted or recurred after back surgery with or without leg pain.
• Patients whose pain has been persisted at least 3 weeks recently and who are necessary to care intermittent medical treatments (eg. medication, injection, physio therapy).
• Patients with pain, defined as an Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) value ≥ 50mm.
• Patients who are 19 - 70 years of age.
• Patients who agreed to voluntarily participate in this study and signed informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who have been diagnosed with a serious disease that can cause low back pain (e.g., cancer, vertebral fracture, spinal infection, inflammatory spondylitis, cauda equine compression, or other disqualifying conditions).
• Patients with progressive neurological deficit or severe neurological symptoms.
• Patients whose pain causes are not resulted from spine or resulted from soft tissue diseases(e.g., cancer, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, gout).
• Patients with a chronic disease that could influences the effects of the treatment or the analysis of treatment results (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetic neuropathy, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, dementia, epilepsy, or other disqualifying conditions).
• Patients for whom acupuncture would be inappropriate or unsafe (e.g., hemorrhagic disease, clotting disorders, a history of receiving anticoagulant therapy, severe diabetes with a risk of infection, severe cardiovascular disease, or other disqualifying conditions)
• Patients who are currently pregnant or planning the pregnancy.
• Patients with psychiatric diseases.
• Patients who are participating in other clinical trial.
• Patients who are unable to sign informed consent.
• Patients who are judged to be inappropriate for the clinical study by the researchers, such as inability to read and write Korean.