PERBEDAAN EFEK ANALGESIA TINDAKAN ELEKTROAKUPUNKTUR DENGAN FREKUENSI RENDAH, KOMBINASI, DAN TINGGI, PADA NYERI PUNGGUNG BAWAH

Low back pain (LBP) is an important public health concern which ranked second after upper respiratory infection in adults. WHO has recommended the use of acupuncture for pain treatment. However, there is a lack of research evidence that shows the optimal frequency of electro-acupuncture for pain treatment. This study aimed to determine the optimal frequency of electro-acupuncture for the treatment of low back pain. This study was a double-blinded randomized controlled trial. A sample of 40 subjects was selected at random of all (60) patients visiting the acupuncture clinic at puskesmas Sragen from September through Desember 2007. The study subjects were assigned to 10 control subjects (paracetamol), 10 subjects with low frequency (2Hz), 10 subjects with combined frequency (20/50Hz), and 10 subjects with high frequency (100Hz) of electro-acupuncture. The electro-acupuncture was administered 7 times. Pain was measured twice, before and after the application of treatment, by use of McGill Pain Questionnaire. The data was analyzed by use of F test (ANOVA) and Post Hoc Test, which was run on SPSS v.15 program. Results of the study showed statistically significant difference in the reduction of pain before and after the application of electro-acupuncture across different study groups (F= 6.60; p=0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in the reduction of pain between control and low frequency (score difference -10.4; p=0.032), control and combined frequency (score difference - 12.1; p=0.015), as well as control and high frequency (score difference -16.1; p=0.004). Difference in the reduction of pain between low and combined frequencies was statistically non-significant (score difference -1.7; p=0.999). Difference in the reduction of pain between combined and high frequencies was statistically non-significant (score difference -4.0; p= 0.928). Likewise, difference in the reduction of pain between low and high frequencies was statistically non- significant (score difference -5.7; p= 0.726). This study concludes that the lowest frequency of electro-acupuncture results in optimal reduction of pain. Therefore, this study recommends the use of low frequency of 2Hz when treating low back pain by electro-acupuncture