Battlefield Acupressure for Acute Back Pain Management in the Emergency Department

Conditions

• Acute Back Pain

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - N/A

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• Battlefield auricular acupressure — PROCEDURE
  Battlefield auricular acupressure: Ear seeds will be applied to the five established BAA points: Cingulate Gyrus, Thalamus, Omega 2, Point Zero, and Shen Men.
• Sham — PROCEDURE
  Ear seeds will be applied to five pre-defined, non-therapeutic points on the ear helix and lobe, chosen for their lack of known effect on pain. The procedure will be identical in duration and interaction to the BAA group.

Study Details

Patients frequently present to the emergency department for treatment of acute pain. In the emergency department, analgesic medications, particularly opiates, are most often the primary and only means of treatment. Alternative therapies such as traditional acupuncture have been studied and utilized in acute care settings; however, the need for extensive training, the use of needles, and state-specific acupuncture licensing requirements have been barriers to widespread use. Battlefield Auricular Acupressure (BAA) is a needle-free five-point technique on the outer ear that has been developed and employed by the military for a variety of painful conditions. The primary objective of this study is to determine if battlefield auricular acupressure (BAA), compared to a sham procedure, results in a reduction in pain score at 30 minutes and 60 minutes post-intervention, by at least 2 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) points below their baseline pain score, compared to participants receiving a sham procedure, for adults who present to the emergency department with a chief complaint of back pain and/or low back.

Key Dates

First listed

Aug 18, 2026

Start date

Sep 10, 2026

Status verified

Aug 2026

Primary completion

Sep 10, 2028

Completion

Sep 10, 2028

Study Design

Enrollment

50 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Arms

• Experimental: Battlefield auricular acupressure
  Battlefield auricular acupressure: a needle-free five-point technique on the outer ear using single-use vaccaria ear seeds.
• Placebo Comparator: Sham acupressure intervention
  The control group will receive a sham acupressure intervention.

Primary Outcome Measure

Change in Pain Score [ Time Frame: Pain scores will be assessed at baseline (prior to intervention), 30 (± 5) minutes post-intervention and 60 (± 10) minutes post-intervention. ]

Central Contacts

• Diana McCarthy, MSN, RN
  551-996-3209
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

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