Short-Term Efficacy of Pulsed Radiofrequency Thermal Stimulation on Acupoints for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Preliminary Study of a Randomized, Single-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Table 1

Baseline characteristics of the treatment and placebo-controlled groups.

	Treatment (n=28)	Placebo-controlled (n=28)	p value
Baseline characteristics
Sex
Female	21 (75.0)	23 (82.1)	0.775
Male	7 (25.0)	5 (17.9)
Age [years)	47.86 (9.58)	43.93 (11.58)	0.172
Duration of LBP [month)	7.38 (44.57)	3.53 (11.20)	0.204
Exercise therapy during the study [count)	3.00 (0.00)	3.00 (0.00)	0.668
BMI [kg/m^2)	23.81 (2.64)	24.77 (3.45)	0.245
Systolic BP [mmHg]	122.14 (14.18)	120.14 (14.16)	0.600
Diastolic BP [mmHg)	73.64 (11.04)	71.07 (9.03)	0.344
Pulse [bpm]	75.57 (10.64)	74.43 (10.81)	0.692
Body temperature [°C)	36.53 (0.53)	36.50 (0.41)	0.800
Outcomes at baseline
VAS [mm]	41.96 (10.66)	46.25 (11.44)	0.153
PPT (at visit 1) [kg/cm^2]	6.72 (1.87)	6.62 (1.68)	0.847
EQ-5D (at visit 1)	0.77 (0.09)	0.78 (0.08)	0.844

Data are summarized as the mean (standard deviation: SD) for the continuous variables and N (%) for the categorical variables. The p values were derived based on the independent two-sample t-test or Wilcoxon’s rank sum test for the continuous variables and chi-squared test for the categorical variables.
Derived from Wilcoxon’s rank sum test.
Treatment: PRF-thermal stimulation plus cupping therapy; Placebo-controlled: cupping therapy.
BP: blood pressure; BMI: body mass index; VAS: visual analogue scale; PPT: pressure pain threshold; EQ-5D: Euro Quality of Life-5 Dimensions.