Trial reportPloS one2017
Efficacy of abdominal acupuncture for neck pain: A randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- WITHDRAWN: Acupuncture for neck disorders.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- The participation of basolateral amygdala in the efficacy of acupuncture with deqi treating for functional dyspepsia.Brain imaging and behavior · 2021Trial
- Protocol for the real-world evidence of acupuncture for chronic neck pain in the elderly: an observational multi-centre cohort study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Bo's abdominal acupuncture treatment for adult-onset Still's disease: A case report.World journal of clinical cases · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Neck Pain: Systematic Review and Meta‑analysis with Trial Sequential Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2025Review
- Efficacy of chronic neck pain self-treatment using press needles: a randomized controlled clinical trial.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Acupuncture as Part of Multimodal Analgesia for Chronic Pain.Orthopedic reviews · 2022Article
- Somatic and Abdominal Acupuncture for Pain Treatment in Adolescent Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) of the Upper Limb: A Case Report.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Article
- A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Abdominal Acupuncture on Post-Stroke Depression.Medical acupuncture · 2021Article
- Efficacy of Dry Needling and Acupuncture in the Treatment of Neck Pain.Anesthesiology and pain medicine · 2021Review
- Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends on Acupuncture for Neck Pain Treatment Over the Past 20 Years.Journal of pain research · 2021Review
- Acupuncture for neck pain caused by cervical spondylosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.BMJ open · 2020Article
- Acupuncture for chronic neck pain with sensitive points: study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2019Article
- Classic Chinese Acupuncture versus Different Types of Control Groups for the Treatment of Chronic Pain: Review of Randomized Controlled Trials (2000-2018).Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study aims to provide evidence regarding the clinical efficacy of abdominal acupuncture for neck pain.
methodsThis randomized, patient and assessor-blind, sham-controlled trial was conducted at a Chinese medicine center in Hong Kong between November 2014 and March 2016. A total of 154 eligible participants (age range, 18-65 years) with neck pain were randomly assigned to receive abdominal (n = 77) or non-penetrating sham abdominal (sham group; n = 77) acupuncture. Each participant was administered treatment over six sessions by Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioners, in accordance with a standardized protocol. The primary outcome was mean improvement in neck pain disability scores evaluated by the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ). Secondary outcomes included intensity of neck pain and health-related quality-of-life measures. The outcomes were assessed at baseline and at 2 and 6 weeks from baseline. Patients in the abdominal acupuncture group received additional follow-up evaluation at 14 weeks from baseline. Outcomes were evaluated by intention-to-treat analysis.
resultsAll participants provided informed consent for treatment and follow-up evaluation. Patients who received abdominal acupuncture exhibited greater improvement in NPQ scores than those who received sham treatment at both 2 and 6 weeks from baseline (intergroup mean differences, -5.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], -9.48 to -2.03; P = 0.008 and -8.65; 95% CI, -12.13 to -5.16; P < 0.001, respectively). The improvement in NPQ scores in the abdominal acupuncture group was even more significant at 14 weeks from baseline. Patients in the abdominal acupuncture group also exhibited significantly greater improvements in intensity of neck pain and a few quality-of-life measures than those in the sham abdominal acupuncture group, without any serious adverse events.
conclusionThese findings suggest that abdominal acupuncture is an effective alternative treatment for neck pain.
trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-TRC-14004932.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.