N/A
Completed N=140
Infrared Thermography-based Study of the Warming Effect Difference at Waist
Health
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05665426 ↗
Enrolled (actual)
140
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Oct 2025
Primary outcomePrimary: ΔT at the Waist Between 30 Minutes and the Baseline. — 0.71; 0.42; 0.43; 0.49 ℃
Summary
Low back pain is a common clinical condition, with up to 84% of adults experiencing varying degrees of low back pain. The most common form of low back pain is non-specific low back pain, which is often treated symptomatically in medicine due to its lack of etiology, which has many side effects. In contrast, acupuncture has the advantage of being practical and free of side effects.
The use of acupuncture points in the lumbar region has a long history of application, as early as the《Huangdi Neijing》thousands of years ago. In the Ming Dynasty, there were summaries of the experience of " Yaobei Weizhong Qiu" (Which means the Weizhong point is closely associated with the waist). Weizhong point's efficacy in lumbar diseases (e.g., lumbar disc herniation, lumbago, sciatica, etc.) is still confirmed. One of the mechanisms is closely related to the improvement of microcirculation, which can be visualized by observing changes in infrared thermal parameters. Acupuncture and moxibustion are the most common therapies at Weizhong point, but there is a lack of research on the differences in efficacy between the two. Therefore, this study aims to collect the temperature parameters of the lumbar region in healthy subjects after acupuncture/moxibustion to estimate the difference in the therapeutic effect on the lumbar region, which can help to reveal the effect differences between acupuncture and moxibustion. As well as to provide scientific evidence to enrich the connotation of the classical theory " Yaobei Weizhong Qiu." the investigators will test the following hypotheses:
1. Hypotheses for main effects of different point selection(LU 5 and BL 40)： H1: There is a significant difference in average temperature change at the waist at 30 minutes between the Weizhong(BL 40) group and the Chize(LU 5) group.
H0: There is no difference in average temperature change at the waist at 30 minutes between the Weizhong(BL 40) group and the Chize(LU 5) group.
2. Hypotheses for the main effects of different interventions (acupuncture and moxibustion) H1: There is a significant difference in average temperature change at the waist at 30 minutes between the acupuncture group and the moxibustion group.
H0: There is no difference in average temperature change at the waist at 30 minutes between the acupuncture and moxibustion groups.
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY ΔT at the Waist Between 30 Minutes and the Baseline. |
0.71; 0.42; 0.43; 0.49 | — |
| SECONDARY δT of The Maximum Temperature in the Designated Area of the Waist After 30 Minutes. |
0.57; 0.41; 0.41; 0.48 | — |
| SECONDARY The Temperature at the Waist Between 5 ,10 ,15 ,20 ,25, 30 Minutes and Baseline. |
34.06; 34.07; 34.16; 33.62; 34.32; 34.21 | — |
| SECONDARY ΔT at the Governor Vessel Between 30 Minutes and Baseline |
0.49; 0.68; 0.48; 0.41 | — |
| SECONDARY Number of Participants Reporting a Sensation of Warmth in the Lower Back |
12; 12; 6; 11 | — |
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion criteria include:
- aged 18-60 (either sex);
- with a BMI of 18.5-23.9 kg/m2;
- with no history of lower back pain;
- with normal range of lumbar mobility (including flexion from 75-90 degrees, extension of 30 degrees, lateral bending from 20-35 degrees, and unilateral rotation of 90 degrees);
- willing to participate in the trial and have signed the informed consent form.
Exclusion criteria
- participants with serious heart, liver, kidney, or hematological diseases;
- women in menses, pregnancy, or lactation;
- those unable to complete the imaging in prone position (about 40 minutes);
- those with cognitive impairments;
- those with a history of lower back trauma or whiplash within a week;
- those with skin diseases or skin lesions, sensory impairments, scarring, or neoplasms at the test site;
- those with metal allergies
- those who have participated in other clinical trials that may affect the results of the study within the last three weeks.
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05665426). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication. Informational only — not medical advice.