Acupuncture for chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled feasibility trial comparing treatment session numbers

45 patients with low back pain were randomized to either four, seven, or ten sessions of acupuncture treatment. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate feasibility measures, including recruitment rate, randomization rate, compliance, and retention. Secondary outcomes included efficacy measures and adverse event rate. Primary outcomes indicated that a large scale trial is feasible, and estimate of sample size for a subsequent study ranged from 47-53 patients per group. Efficacy results suggested greater improvement in the ten session (high dose) acupuncture group, though statistical comparison of results was not performed.