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Acupuncture for Chronic Neck Pain Project

Methods: Patients whose GPs had diagnosed neck pain were recruited from one general practice, and randomised to receive usual GP care only, or acupuncture (up to 10 treatments over 3 months) as an adjunctive treatment to usual GP care. The primary outcome measure was the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) at 3 months. A sub-sample of patients and acupuncturists as well as two GPs were interviewed to explore perceptions and experiences of acupuncture as a treatment for chronic neck pain. 

Results: A total of 27 eligible patients consented and 24 were recruited to the trial from the 227 identified from the GP database. Ten patients were randomised to acupuncture, receiving an average of 8 treatments from one of four acupuncturists, and 14 were randomised to usual GP care alone.  Assuming 80% power at the 5% significance level, and the standard deviation of baseline scores on the Northwick Park Questionnaire from this pilot, with an estimated effect size of 0.3, a sample size of 210 would be required in each arm in a large-scale trial to allow for a loss to follow-up rate of 14%. In order to achieve this sample, one would need to identify patients from databases of GP practices with a total population of 250,000 patients, or approximately 20 GP practices roughly equal in size to the one involved in this study (i.e. 15,694 patients). 

Conclusions: This pilot study has allowed numerous recommendations to be made to facilitate the design of a large-scale trial, which in turn will help to clarify the existing evidence base on acupuncture for neck pain.