Trial reportBMC complementary medicine and therapies2026
Effectiveness of tuina and physiotherapy to manage pain for patients with chronic low back pain: a pragmatic randomized clinical trial.
Trial report in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Variable Impedance Control for Force Tracking in Multi-Mode Robotic Back Massage.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Tuina therapy alleviates neuropathic pain by modulating the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 axis to inhibit degradation of the perineuronal nets.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Article
- Biomechanical optimization of rolling manipulation for lumbar muscle strain: a study protocol of cerebral hemodynamic responses and clinical efficacy using fNIRS.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundChronic non-specific low back pain lacks a defined pathoanatomical cause, leading to diverse treatment methods including physiotherapy and complementary alternative medicine techniques such as Tuina. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Tuina for managing chronic non-specific low back pain by comparing it to physiotherapy and a combination of physiotherapy and Tuina.
methodsIn this randomized, parallel-controlled, single-blind trial, 204 participants aged 21 to 75 with chronic non-specific low back pain were randomly assigned to physiotherapy, Tuina, or combined therapy. Pain intensity and quality of life were measured with the visual analog scale, 36-Item Short Form Survey and the Oswestry Disability Index, alongside trunk range of motion. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, two months, and five months. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance for within- and between-group comparisons, and post-hoc tests were applied to between-group comparisons.
resultsAfter two months, all groups had significant improvement in pain scores. Tuina was only significantly better than the combination treatment for reducing pain (p = 0.021; mean difference = - 1.04 [95% CI - 1.85 to - 0.23], Cohen's d = - 0.41). However, no significant difference was observed between Tuina and combined treatment against physiotherapy. Pain scores were not significantly different at five months in all groups. The physiotherapy (p = 0.019; mean difference = - 5.28 [95% CI - 9.44 to - 1.11], d = - 0.44) and combined (p = 0.028; mean difference = 5.59 [95% CI 1.17 to 10.01], d = 0.42) groups showed a significant reduction in Oswestry Disability Index scores compared to Tuina at five months. The combined group had significantly greater 36-Item Short-Form Survey than Tuina (p = 0.012; mean difference = - 71.15 [95% CI - 118.23 to - 24.06], d = - 0.47), but not significantly greater than physiotherapy.
conclusionsAll treatment groups demonstrated improved outcomes post-intervention and at five months. Between-group differences in improvement were significant only for Oswestry Disability Index and 36-Item Short-Form Survey scores at five months. Pain scores showed no significant superiority of physiotherapy over Tuina and combined therapy (d < 0.2), indicating potential use of Tuina in chronic non-specific low back pain management. TRIALS REGISTRATION: ChiMCTR2000004087. URL: https://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojEN.html?proj=62614 . Date of Registration: 27 November 2020.
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