Efficacy and central mechanism of acupuncture treatment in patients with neck pain: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Acupuncture is effective for reducing the symptoms of neck pain (NP). However, underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Based on evaluating efficacy two acupuncture prescriptions treating NP, this study aims to investigate potential central mechanism treatment NP by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods This a randomized controlled trial; 86 patients will be randomly assigned into groups at ratio 1:1. The whole period includes 2 weeks baseline, treatments, and 12 follow-up (4 after treatment). severity, disability index, cervical range motion, pressure threshold, etc., used evaluate clinical treatment. MRI scans performed detect cerebral activity changes 20 in each group. data analyzed, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficient association between features improvement symptoms. Discussion results provide further evidence application NP. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Registry ChiCTR2000040930 . Registered 16 December 2020.