|
| STRICTA checklist items | | Acupuncture | | | Pharmacopuncture | |
|
| Acupuncture rationale | (1a) Style of acupuncture | Refer to Table 4. | (1a) Type of pharmacopuncture | Refer to Table 4. |
|
| | (1b) Reasoning for treatment provided | Anatomical structure likely to cause symptoms (e.g., shortened scalenes and shortened suboccipital muscles) | 140 (71.1) | | | |
|
| | | Spinal levels of pathology as confirmed through imaging (e.g., site of disc herniation | 118 (59.9) | | | |
|
| | | Tender points, trigger points, and other points that elicit a painful response upon palpation | 105 (53.3) | | | |
|
| | | Ashi points (site of pain) | 86 (43.7) | | | |
|
| | | Effective acupoints as observed through clinical experience | 66 (33.5) | | | |
|
| | | Academic knowledge acquired from research articles and clinical practice guidelines | 28 (14.2) | | | |
|
| | | Acupoints based on Korean Medicine principles (e.g., GB20, GB21, LI11, LI04, and SI03) | 28 (14.2) | | | |
|
| | | Knowledge acquired through formal education | 17 (8.6) | | | |
|
| Details of needling | (2a) Number of needle insertions per subject per session | | 10.0±3.5 | (2a) Number of acupoint injections per subject per session (range) | Anterior | 3.6±2.3 |
| Posterior | 6.1±3.6 |
|
| | | | | (2a) Amount of pharmacopuncture solution injected per session (range, cc) | Anterior | 1.1±0.7 |
| Posterior | 2.6±1.9 |
|
| | (2b) Names of points used | Refer to Table 5. | (2b) Names of points used | Refer to Table 5. |
|
| | (2c) Depth of insertion (cm) | | 2.1±0.9 | (2c) Depth of insertion (range, cm) | Anterior | 1.3±0.8 |
| Posterior | 2.7±1.3 |
|
| | (2d) Responses sought | De qi sensation | 5.2±1.4 | | | |
|
| | | Muscle twitch response | 5.1±1.2 | | | |
|
| | (2e) Needle stimulation | Motion Style Acupuncture Treatment (MSAT) | 111 (56.3) | | | |
|
| | | Lifting and thrusting () | 75 (38.1) | | | |
|
| | | Holding and twisting () | 74 (37.6) | | | |
|
| | | Percentage of patients treated with electroacupuncture (%) | 93.5±15.8 | | | |
|
| | (2f) Needle retention time (minutes) | | 13.3±2.5 | | | |
|
| | (2g) Needle type | Diameter of needle (mm) | 16.1±11.7 | | | |
|
| Treatment regimen | (3a) Number of treatment sessions | Refer to Table 2. | | (3a) Number of treatment sessions | Refer to Table 2. | |
|
| | (3b) Frequency of treatment sessions (sessions/week) | | 2.1±1.1 | (3b) Frequency of treatment sessions (sessions/week) | | 3.2±7.1 |
|
| | (3b) Duration of treatment sessions (minutes) | | 13.3±2.5 | (3b) Duration of treatment sessions (range, minutes) | Anterior | 2.6±2.9 |
| Posterior | 4.3±4.0 |
|
| Other components of treatment | (4a) Other interventions administered | Refer to Table 2. | (4a) Other interventions administered | Refer to Table 2. |
|
| Practitioner background | (5) Description of participating acupuncturists | Refer to Table 1. | (5) Description of participating acupuncturists | Refer to Table 1. |
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