Forty-four patients with chronic cnLBP of more than three months duration will be randomly allocated to two groups: acupuncture group (ACP) (n = 22) and laser acupuncture group (LACP) (n = 22).Interventions will last one hour, and will happen twice a week for 5 weeks. The primary clinical outcomes will be pain intensity (11-point numeric pain rating scale) as measured and functional disability (Oswestry Disability Index).The secondary outcomes will be the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Patient-Specific Functional Scale and fingertip-to-floor test. Evaluations will be performed before and after the first session, after 5 weeks of treatment, and three months after randomization (follow-up). The findings will be analyzed statistically considering a 5% significance level (p ≤ 0.05).
The aim of this randomized clinical trial will be to compare the efficacy between acupuncture and laser acupuncture on pain and disability in people with chronic nonspecific low back pain .