Acupuncture for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

The patients in this group will receive individualized acupuncture prescribed by a certified Korean Medicine Doctor (KMD) with at least three years of clinical experience. The acupuncture formulas will be determined based on the individual patient's symptoms and at the KMD's discretion. The acupuncture treatment will be applied one to three times a week for six weeks (a total of 12 sessions and an additional four sessions are allowed). Acupuncture will be manually stimulated at first, and then electrical stimulation will be allowed at the KMD's discretion. Retention time will be equal to or less than 20 minutes. Examples of acupuncture points to be used might include LI4, LI11, TE5, SI3, TE3, ST36, SP6, SP9, LR3, GB34, Gb39, BL40, BL57, EX-B2, and BL23.

Usual care consists of patient education for a healthier lifestyle, including diet, exercise, self-management of symptoms, and the use of other treatments as needed. Participants will receive a three-page leaflet of patient education material. Optional regular physical therapies, including interferential current therapy (ICT) and local heat application, will be provided only for the control group at the participants' request . Physical therapy will be provided one to three times a week for six weeks (a total of 12 sessions and an additional four sessions are allowed). All kinds of conservative interventions for lumbar spinal stenosis, including analgesics and non-study physical treatments,will be allowed. However, surgical treatments, non-study acupuncture, or herbal medicine will not be allowed.