Complementary and alternative medical therapies for chronic low back pain: What treatments are patients willing to try?

Table 5 Willingness to Participate in Clinical Trials of CAM Therapies for Low Back Pain and Preference for Therapies

	Percent (N = 249)
Definitely willing to participate in clinical trial of acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, and a self-help back pain book (%)*	62
Preferred treatment among above:
Massage	43
Acupuncture	35
Chiropractic	18
None or Other	3
Book	1
Definitely willing to participate in clinical trial of massage, meditation, t'ai chi, and a self-help back pain book (%)**	53
Preferred treatment among above:
Massage	63
T'ai Chi training	24
Book	5
Meditation training	4
None or Other	4

Missing values – < 4% of responses for each variable are missing. *Your healthplan is thinking about conducting a study evaluating several treatments for people with chronic low back pain. In this study, participants would have a one in four chance of being assigned to one of the following treatments: acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, or a book designed to help patients better understand their low back pain. Participants would be expected to try the treatment they were assigned to at least once. Participants would still retain access to their usual care and participation in this study would be free. If you were asked to take part in a study like this would you be willing to participate? ** Same question was asked, but the treatments were massage, meditation training, and t'ai chi training.

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