• Xuan Zhou, Juan Yang, Qing-Yu Ma, Yu Guo, Ke-Jie He, Long-Bin Shen, Qiao Fan, Cheong Kwok Chee Philip, Tay Boon Keng, Tan Ia Choo Celia, Brent A Bauer, and Jia-Xu Chen.
• Formula-Pattern Research Center, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Feb 18; 101 (7): e28883e28883.

BackgroundChronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP) is a common complaint about medical care and carries a heavy social burden. The efficacy of Tuina (TN) or physiotherapy (PT) for CNLBP has been evaluated in previous systematic reviews. However, there is no high-quality evidence to support the efficacy of Tuina. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a large-scale, multicenter, high-quality clinical trial to provide evidence for Tuina to treat CNLBP.MethodsThis is a multicenter, assessor-, and analyst-blinded, randomized controlled trial with 3 parallel arms: TN, PT, and TN combined with PT (Tuina combined with physiotherapy) group. Six hundred twelve eligible CNLBP patients will be randomly assigned to the groups in a 1:1:1 ratio in 3 centers. The TN intervention includes 9-step routine techniques, while the PT intervention includes a physiotherapy treatment plan based on a patient's symptoms. The interventions for both groups will last for 30 minutes and will be carried out for 6 sessions in 8 weeks. The primary outcome will be the visual analog scale pain score. And the secondary outcomes will include the Oswestry Disability Index, spinal range of motion, 36-item short-form health survey. Safety evaluation will be recorded during the whole study. All data in this randomized controlled trial will be analyzed by SAS 9.4.DiscussionThe results of this trial will provide evidence to evaluate the efficacy of Tuina's value as a treatment for CNLBP.Trial RegistrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2000040288, November 27, 2020).Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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