Table 1.
Clinical Characteristics at Baseline and During the Treatment Phase in the Different Dose Groups
| Characteristic | MAH (n=15) | MAL (n=15) | p-valueb | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Treatmenta | Baseline | Treatmenta | Baseline | Treatment | |
| Gender (M/F) | 7/8 | 4/11 | 0.450 | |||
| Age (y) | 63.20±8.20 | 54.27±14.97 | 0.042* | |||
| Duration (mo.) | 22.67±22.19 | 28.67±25.47 | 0.497 | |||
| Side (right/left) | 8/7 | 6/9 | 0.715 | |||
| VAS | 5.90±1.74 | 3.94±2.51* | 6.29±1.76 | 4.00±1.95** | 0.546 | 0.942 |
| SBI | 13.47±5.51 | 10.73±5.74 | 13.20±4.89 | 9.47±3.83* | 0.890 | 0.484 |
| RDQS | 11.13±4.03 | 9.33±4.86 | 10.07±5.26 | 6.20±5.27* | 0.538 | 0.102 |
| WHOQOL-BREF | 53.00±8.31 | 54.27±8.22 | 54.93±8.40 | 55.23±7.07 | 0.532 | 0.735 |
| Physical | 12.38±1.93 | 13.29±2.44 | 13.07±2.43 | 13.87±1.76 | 0.399 | 0.467 |
| Psychological | 13.29±2.59 | 13.24±2.29 | 13.28±2.47 | 13.55±2.22 | 0.997 | 0.708 |
| Social | 13.33±2.81 | 13.33±3.07 | 14.58±2.33 | 13.74±2.49 | 0.197 | 0.695 |
| Environmental | 14.00±2.22 | 14.04±1.79 | 14.00±2.18 | 14.07±2.02 | 1.000 | 0.636 |
Notes: Data are presented as the mean ± the standard deviation (SD). The data were compared using the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U-test (for continuous variables). aTreatment, within-group p-value. bp-value, between-group p-value. *p<0.05; **p<0.01.
Abbreviations: MAH, “high-dose” manual acupuncture; MAL, “low-dose” manual acupuncture; VAS, visual analog scale; SBI, Sciatica Bothersomeness Index; RDQS, Roland Disability Questionnaire for Sciatica; WHOQOL-BREF, World Health Organization Quality of Life in the Brief Edition.