• Anfeng Xiang, Mingshu Xu, Yan Liang, Jinzi Wei, and Sheng Liu.
• Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China Shanghai Yueyang Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Dec 1; 96 (51): e9191.

BackgroundAround 90% of sciatica cases are due to a herniated intervertebral disc in the lumbar region. Ankle acupuncture (AA) has been reported to be effective in the treatment of acute nonspecific low back pain. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a single session of ankle acupuncture for disc-related sciatica.MethodThis will be a double-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial. Patients diagnosed with disc-related sciatica will be randomly divided into 3 parallel groups. The treatment group (n = 30) will receive ankle acupuncture. The 2 control groups will either undergo traditional needle manipulation (n = 30) or sham acupuncture (n = 30) at the same point as the treatment group. The primary outcome will be pain intensity on a visual analog scale (VAS). The secondary outcomes will be paresthesia intensity on a VAS and the Abbreviated Acceptability Rating Profile (AAPR). The success of blinding will be evaluated, and the needle-induced sensation and adverse events will be recorded. All outcomes will be evaluated before, during, and after the treatment.DiscussionThis study will determine the immediate effect and specificity of ankle acupuncture for the treatment of disc-related sciatica. We anticipate that ankle acupuncture might be more effective than traditional needle manipulation or sham acupuncture.Trial RegistrationChiCTR-IPR-15007127 (http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=11989).Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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