Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28716108›Full record

Trial reportTrials2017

Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy for chronic low back pain to reduce pain, and improve functionality and general well-being compared with physiotherapy: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Christoph Schnelle, Steffen Messerschmidt, Eunice J Minford, Kate Greenaway-Twist, Maxine Szramka, Marianna Masiorski, Michelle Sheldrake, Mark Jones

RetractedOpen access · goldAbstract readComparative StudyMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Trials, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It has been retracted, and should not be counted. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

Christoph SchnelleSchool of Public Health, University of Queensland, Herston Road, Herston, QLD, Australia. christoph.schnelle@uq.net.au.ORCID 0000-0001-8538-1487
Steffen MesserschmidtTotal Health From Inside Out Pty Ltd, Brisbane and Gold Coast, Australia.
Eunice J MinfordDepartment of Surgery, Antrim Area Hospital, 45 Bush Rd, Antrim, BT41 2RL, UK.
Kate Greenaway-TwistIndependent physiotherapist, practising in Goonellabah, Australia.
Maxine SzramkaThe Rheumatology Centre, Sydney and Nowra, Australia.
Marianna MasiorskiIndependent psychologist, practising in Sunshine Coast, Australia.
Michelle SheldrakeUniversity of New South Wales, High Street, Kensington, NSW, Australia.
Mark JonesSchool of Public Health, University of Queensland, Herston Road, Herston, QLD, Australia.
The University of Queensland · AUAustralian Physiotherapy Association · AUQueensland Health · AUQueen's University Belfast · GBUniversity of the Sunshine Coast · AUUNSW Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLow back pain causes more global disability than any other condition. Once the acute pain becomes chronic, about two-thirds of sufferers will not fully recover after 1-2 years. There is a paucity of effective treatments for non-specific, chronic low back pain. It has been noted that low back pain is associated with changes in the connective tissue in the affected area, and a very low-impact treatment, Esoteric Connective Tissue Therapy (ECTT), has been developed to restore flexibility in connective tissue. ECTT uses patterns of very small, circular movements, to the legs, arms, spine, sacrum and head, which anecdotally are effective in pain relief. In an unpublished single-arm phase I/II trial with chronic pain patients, ECTT showed a 56% reduction in pain after five treatments and 45% and 54% improvements at 6 months and 7-9 years of follow-up respectively.

methodsThe aim of this randomised controlled trial is to compare ECTT with physiotherapy for reducing pain and improving physical function and physical and mental well-being in patients with chronic low back pain. The trial will be held at two hospitals in Vietnam. One hundred participants with chronic low back pain greater than or equal to 40/100 on the visual analogue scale will be recruited and randomised to either ECTT or physiotherapy. Four weekly treatments will be provided by two experienced ECTT practitioners (Treatment Group, 40 minutes each) and hospital-employed physiotherapy nurses (Control Group, 50 minutes). The primary outcomes will be changes in pain, physical function per the Quebec Pain Functionality Questionnaire and physical and mental well-being recorded by the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), with mixed modelling used as the primary statistical tool because the data are longitudinal. Initial follow-up will be at either 4 or 8 months, with a second follow-up after 12 months. DISCUSSION: The trial design has important strengths, because it is to be conducted in hospitals under medical supervision, because ECTT is to be compared with a standard therapy and because the assessor and analyst are to be blinded. The findings from this trial will provide evidence of the efficacy of ECTT for chronic low back pain compared with standard physiotherapy treatment.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12616001196437 . Registered on 30 August 2016.

Indexed as

Physical Therapy ModalitiesChronic PainClinical ProtocolsConnective TissueDisability EvaluationHumansLow Back PainMental HealthMusculoskeletal ManipulationsPain MeasurementQuality of LifeResearch DesignSurveys and QuestionnairesTime FactorsTreatment OutcomeVietnamChronic low back painConnective tissueEsoteric Connective Tissue TherapyLow back painPhysiotherapyRandomised controlled trial

Identifiers

PMID28716108
PMCPMC5513109
OpenAlexW2735258122

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.