Acupuncture for Japanese Katakori (Chronic Neck Pain): A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Double-Blind Study

Nobuari Takakura; Miho Takayama; Akiko Kawase; Ted J Kaptchuk; Jian Kong; Mark Vangel; Hiroyoshi Yajima

doi:10.3390/medicina59122141

Acupuncture for Japanese Katakori (Chronic Neck Pain): A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Double-Blind Study

Medicina (Kaunas). 2023 Dec 9;59(12):2141. doi: 10.3390/medicina59122141.

Authors

Nobuari Takakura¹, Miho Takayama^{1

2}, Akiko Kawase², Ted J Kaptchuk³, Jian Kong⁴, Mark Vangel⁵, Hiroyoshi Yajima^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tokyo Ariake University of Medical and Health Sciences, 2-9-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0063, Japan.
² Japan School of Acupuncture, Moxibustion, and Physiotherapy, 20-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0021, Japan.
³ Program in Placebo Studies & Therapeutic Encounter, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
⁵ Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Although acupuncture is listed as a beneficial treatment for neck/shoulder stiffness, which has increased with the spread of information technology, to date, evidence of its efficacy under double-blind conditions has not been shown. This study aimed to assess whether acupuncture treatment with superficial skin piercing is superior to placebo treatment. Materials and Methods: A randomized, double-blind (practitioner-patient) placebo-controlled trial was performed at a single center with four arms (ISRCTN76896018). Four hundred patients with essential neck/shoulder stiffness were randomly assigned to penetrating needle treatment (acupuncture ritual and skin penetration), skin-touch needle treatment (acupuncture ritual and skin touch), no-touch needle treatment (acupuncture ritual alone), and no-treatment control. Each of the six acupuncturists applied a needle to each of the four acupoints in the neck/shoulder of 50 patients. Results: Each of the three treatments significantly (p = 0.01) improved neck/shoulder stiffness compared with the no-treatment control immediately and 24 h after treatment. There was a significant improvement in penetrating needle treatment over no-touch needle treatment 24 h later. However, there was no significant difference between the penetrating and skin-touch and skin-touch vs. no-touch. Conclusions: All treatments that received the ritual of acupuncture were better than the no-treatment control. Only genuine acupuncture involves the specific effects of needle insertion into the body. The acupuncture ritual had a significant impact on the subjective improvement of neck/shoulder stiffness; however, improvement with ritual alone versions of placebo acupuncture was not maintained as with superficial skin piercing. Our study provides important evidence of acupuncture efficacy and information regarding inert no-touch placebo control in acupuncture research.

Keywords: acupuncture; chronic neck pain; double blinding; neck stiffness; placebo; randomized placebo-controlled trial; shoulder stiffness.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Acupuncture Therapy*
Double-Blind Method
Humans
Japan
Neck Pain* / therapy
Skin

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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