Electronic MoxibustionNCT07858188
Study on the Effect of Electronic Moxibustion on Non-Specific Low Back Pain in Young Adults
A study testing Electronic Moxibustion and ibuprofen or celecoxib analgesics in people with Electronic Moxibustion and Low Back Pain, run by Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University at 1 site in China.
Trial summary
This is an interventional clinical study. A total of 90 subjects aged 18 to 40 years are planned to be recruited. The subjects have low back pain that affects daily work and life, resulting in reduced exercise tolerance or aggravated pain after exercise, while retaining basic living ability and being capable of… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 40 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Electronic Moxibustion, Low Back Pain, Muscle Hardness
- What is being tested?
- Electronic Moxibustion and ibuprofen or celecoxib analgesics
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 90 participants
- Where
- 1 siteChina
- Study dates
- Sep 2026to Dec 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 40 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Agree to participate in the study and voluntarily sign the informed consent form;
- Typically developing young adults aged 18-40 years of any gender, with a VAS score between 4 and 6 inclusive;
- Symptoms include low back pain aggravated by cold, difficulty turning, dark tongue with white greasy coating (cold-dampness and blood stasis pattern); stabbing pain with fixed location, tenderness on pressure, worse at night and milder in the daytime (blood stasis low back pain); dull lingering low back pain with soreness and weakness, persistent symptoms, local cold sensation, preference for warmth and pressure, worsening upon cold exposure, cold limbs (kidney-yang deficiency low back pain);
- No history of spinal surgery, nerve root compression or severe organic diseases.
Who cannot join
- Pregnancy, broken skin or abnormal temperature sensation;
- Organic diseases such as lumbar disc herniation, fractures and tumors;
- Received acupuncture, tuina or analgesic treatment within the past month;
- Combined with mental illness or brain injury (affecting EEG);
- Considered unsuitable for participation in this study as judged by the researchers.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
China1 site
Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University
Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515
About this study
This is an interventional clinical study. A total of 90 subjects aged 18 to 40 years are planned to be recruited. The subjects have low back pain that affects daily work and life, resulting in reduced exercise tolerance or aggravated pain after exercise, while retaining basic living ability and being capable of performing partial activities; their VAS scores range from 4 to 6. At baseline, the duration of subjects' low back pain and disability index will be recorded, along with muscle stiffness and electroencephalogram findings. Afterwards, electronic moxibustion treatment will be administered for 4 weeks. Subjects will be randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group with equal numbers of participants. The treatment group will use a Wenyang instrument with a rated frequency of 50 Hz, with the temperature set between 40℃ and 60℃ based on subjects' comfort level. Each treatment session lasts 30 to 60 minutes, 5 times per week for 4 weeks. The Wenyang instrument is used by subjects at home, with researchers providing remote guidance and supervision via voice or video. Subjects will check in and upload records after each use of electronic moxibustion, which will be documented by researchers. If subjects suffer from unbearable low back pain during the study, they may take oral ibuprofen or celecoxib for pain relief. The dosage and administration time will be recorded, and check-in and upload will be completed after each dose of analgesics for researchers' documentation. Subjects in the control group will take oral ibuprofen or celecoxib for pain relief as needed (i.e., when they feel pain). The dosage and administration time will be recorded with check-in and upload. After 4 weeks of intervention, the two groups will be compared in terms of the number of days of analgesic use or total consumed dosage, as well as changes in VAS scores, disability index, muscle stiffness and electroencephalogram findings.
Read the detailed description
This is an interventional clinical study. A total of 90 subjects aged 18 to 40 years are planned to be recruited. The subjects have low back pain that affects daily work and life, resulting in reduced exercise tolerance or aggravated pain after exercise, while retaining basic living ability and being capable of performing partial activities; their VAS scores range from 4 to 6. At baseline, the duration of subjects' low back pain and disability index will be recorded, along with muscle stiffness and electroencephalogram findings. Afterwards, electronic moxibustion treatment will be administered for 4 weeks. Subjects will be randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group with equal numbers of participants. The treatment group will use a Wenyang instrument with a rated frequency of 50 Hz, with the temperature set between 40℃ and 60℃ based on subjects' comfort level. Each treatment session lasts 30 to 60 minutes, 5 times per week for 4 weeks. The Wenyang instrument is used by subjects at home, with researchers providing remote guidance and supervision via voice or video. Subjects will check in and upload records after each use of electronic moxibustion, which will be documented by researchers. If subjects suffer from unbearable low back pain during the study, they may take oral ibuprofen or celecoxib for pain relief. The dosage and administration time will be recorded, and check-in and upload will be completed after each dose of analgesics for researchers' documentation. Subjects in the control group will take oral ibuprofen or celecoxib for pain relief as needed (i.e., when they feel pain). The dosage and administration time will be recorded with check-in and upload. After 4 weeks of intervention, the two groups will be compared in terms of the number of days of analgesic use or total consumed dosage, as well as changes in VAS scores, disability index, muscle stiffness and electroencephalogram findings.
- Conditions
- Electronic Moxibustion, Low Back Pain, Muscle Hardness
- Being tested
- Electronic Moxibustion, ibuprofen or celecoxib analgesics
- Medical subject headings
- Low Back Pain
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Electronic MoxibustionOther
The subjects were equally divided into the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group received electronic moxibustion 5 times a week for 4 weeks, used painkillers when experiencing subjective pain, and uploaded check-in records.
ibuprofen or celecoxib analgesicsDrug
The control group took oral painkillers when experiencing subjective pain and uploaded check-in records.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic Moxibustion Group | Experimental | The experimental group used a Yang-warming instrument with a rated frequency of 50 Hz. The temperature was set at 40-60 °C, adjusted mainly according to the subject's comfort level. Each treatment lasted 30-60 minutes, with 5 sessions per week for 4 consecutive weeks. Subjects used the Yang-warming instrument at home, and researchers provided remote guidance and supervision via voice or video calls. Subjects checked in and uploaded records after each session of electronic moxibustion, which were documented by researchers. If subjects experienced unbearable lumbago during the study, they could take oral ibuprofen or celecoxib for pain relief. The dosage and time of medication were recorded, and check-in records were uploaded after each painkiller administration for researchers' documentation. Receives: Other: Electronic Moxibustion |
| control group | Active comparator | In the control group, subjects took oral ibuprofen or celecoxib analgesics at an unspecified time (i.e., when the subjects felt pain). The dosage and time of medication were recorded and uploaded via check-in. Receives: Drug: ibuprofen or celecoxib analgesics |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Drug dosage
Total consumption of painkillers during the two groups of trials (within four weeks).
Measured: Starting from the measurement baseline until the end of the 4-week intervention period, the difference in medication dosage used by the two groups during the intervention will be evaluated.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted5 Oct 2026
- Study startSep 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completionSep 2027 (estimated)
- Study completionDec 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Electronic MoxibustionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 90 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07858188
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- NFEC-2026-562
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 13 Sep 2026
- Last updated
- 5 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: Individual-participant data will not be shared publicly due to participant privacy protection requirements, and the informed consent does not include provisions for open data sharing.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 5 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Study on the Effect of Electronic Moxibustion on Non-Specific Low Back Pain in Young Adults
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07858188
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- NFEC-2026-562
- Conditions
- Electronic Moxibustion, Low Back Pain, Muscle Hardness
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 90 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Sep 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- Sep 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Dec 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 5 Oct 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This is an interventional clinical study. A total of 90 subjects aged 18 to 40 years are planned to be recruited. The subjects have low back pain that affects daily work and life, resulting in reduced exercise tolerance or aggravated pain after exercise, while retaining basic living ability and being capable of performing partial activities; their VAS scores range from 4 to 6. At baseline, the duration of subjects' low back pain and disability index will be recorded, along with muscle stiffness and electroencephalogram findings. Afterwards, electronic moxibustion treatment will be administered for 4 weeks. Subjects will be randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group with equal numbers of participants. The treatment group will use a Wenyang instrument with a rated frequency of 50 Hz, with the temperature set between 40℃ and 60℃ based on subjects' comfort level. Each treatment session lasts 30 to 60 minutes, 5 times per week for 4 weeks. The Wenyang instrument is used by subjects at home, with researchers providing remote guidance and supervision via voice or video. Subjects will check in and upload records after each use of electronic moxibustion, which will be documented by researchers. If subjects suffer from unbearable low back pain during the study, they may take oral ibuprofen or celecoxib for pain relief. The dosage and administration time will be recorded, and check-in and upload will be completed after each dose of analgesics for researchers' documentation. Subjects in the control group will take oral ibuprofen or celecoxib for pain relief as needed (i.e., when they feel pain). The dosage and administration time will be recorded with check-in and upload. After 4 weeks of intervention, the two groups will be compared in terms of the number of days of analgesic use or total consumed dosage, as well as changes in VAS scores, disability index, muscle stiffness and electroencephalogram findings.
Detailed description
This is an interventional clinical study. A total of 90 subjects aged 18 to 40 years are planned to be recruited. The subjects have low back pain that affects daily work and life, resulting in reduced exercise tolerance or aggravated pain after exercise, while retaining basic living ability and being capable of performing partial activities; their VAS scores range from 4 to 6. At baseline, the duration of subjects' low back pain and disability index will be recorded, along with muscle stiffness and electroencephalogram findings. Afterwards, electronic moxibustion treatment will be administered for 4 weeks. Subjects will be randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group with equal numbers of participants. The treatment group will use a Wenyang instrument with a rated frequency of 50 Hz, with the temperature set between 40℃ and 60℃ based on subjects' comfort level. Each treatment session lasts 30 to 60 minutes, 5 times per week for 4 weeks. The Wenyang instrument is used by subjects at home, with researchers providing remote guidance and supervision via voice or video. Subjects will check in and upload records after each use of electronic moxibustion, which will be documented by researchers. If subjects suffer from unbearable low back pain during the study, they may take oral ibuprofen or celecoxib for pain relief. The dosage and administration time will be recorded, and check-in and upload will be completed after each dose of analgesics for researchers' documentation. Subjects in the control group will take oral ibuprofen or celecoxib for pain relief as needed (i.e., when they feel pain). The dosage and administration time will be recorded with check-in and upload. After 4 weeks of intervention, the two groups will be compared in terms of the number of days of analgesic use or total consumed dosage, as well as changes in VAS scores, disability index, muscle stiffness and electroencephalogram findings.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic Moxibustion Group | Experimental | Other: Electronic MoxibustionThe experimental group used a Yang-warming instrument with a rated frequency of 50 Hz. The temperature was set at 40-60 °C, adjusted mainly according to the subject's comfort level. Each treatment lasted 30-60 minutes, with 5 sessions per week for 4 consecutive weeks. Subjects used the Yang-warming instrument at home, and researchers provided remote guidance and supervision via voice or video calls. Subjects checked in and uploaded records after each session of electronic moxibustion, which were documented by researchers. If subjects experienced unbearable lumbago during the study, they could take oral ibuprofen or celecoxib for pain relief. The dosage and time of medication were recorded, and check-in records were uploaded after each painkiller administration for researchers' documentation. |
| control group | Active comparator | Drug: ibuprofen or celecoxib analgesicsIn the control group, subjects took oral ibuprofen or celecoxib analgesics at an unspecified time (i.e., when the subjects felt pain). The dosage and time of medication were recorded and uploaded via check-in. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 40 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Agree to participate in the study and voluntarily sign the informed consent form;
- Typically developing young adults aged 18-40 years of any gender, with a VAS score between 4 and 6 inclusive;
- Symptoms include low back pain aggravated by cold, difficulty turning, dark tongue with white greasy coating (cold-dampness and blood stasis pattern); stabbing pain with fixed location, tenderness on pressure, worse at night and milder in the daytime (blood stasis low back pain); dull lingering low back pain with soreness and weakness, persistent symptoms, local cold sensation, preference for warmth and pressure, worsening upon cold exposure, cold limbs (kidney-yang deficiency low back pain);
- No history of spinal surgery, nerve root compression or severe organic diseases.
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Pregnancy, broken skin or abnormal temperature sensation;
- Organic diseases such as lumbar disc herniation, fractures and tumors;
- Received acupuncture, tuina or analgesic treatment within the past month;
- Combined with mental illness or brain injury (affecting EEG);
- Considered unsuitable for participation in this study as judged by the researchers.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic MoxibustionThe subjects were equally divided into the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group received electronic moxibustion 5 times a week for 4 weeks, used painkillers when experiencing subjective pain, and uploaded check-in records. | Other | Electronic Moxibustion Group |
| ibuprofen or celecoxib analgesicsThe control group took oral painkillers when experiencing subjective pain and uploaded check-in records. | Drug | control group |
Primary outcome
Drug dosage
Time frame: Starting from the measurement baseline until the end of the 4-week intervention period, the difference in medication dosage used by the two groups during the intervention will be evaluated.
Total consumption of painkillers during the two groups of trials (within four weeks).
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 5 Oct 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. Individual-participant data will not be shared publicly due to participant privacy protection requirements, and the informed consent does not include provisions for open data sharing.
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Electronic Moxibustion and ibuprofen or celecoxib analgesics in people with Electronic Moxibustion and Low Back Pain, run by Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University at 1 site in China.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 5 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact chao chen, Doctoral degree (+86-20-6278723, nfyyec@163.com), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Drug dosage (time frame: Starting from the measurement baseline until the end of the 4-week intervention period, the difference in medication dosage used by the two groups during the intervention will be evaluated.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 5 Oct 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 6 Nov 2026.