September 13, 2024 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu

Can acupuncture be used to treat chronic pain? Researchers will soon know, thanks to a new $4 million grant from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Based out of UTHealth Houston and led by nursing professor Jennifer Kawi, the multi-institution team has tapped health services policy and management associate professor Peiyin Hung to oversee one of two major clinical sites.

The goal of the project is to test the use of auricular point acupressure (i.e., stimulating pressure points on the ear) to alleviate chronic pain in rural populations. Using a randomized controlled trial design, rural residents in Texas and South Carolina will receive access to patient-centered training coupled with a smartphone app that guides them through self-administered auricular point acupressure.

 

Chronic pain is the number one reason that patients seek health care and the leading cause of disability.

“Rural communities face inequities in accessing pain care due to the shortages of pain specialists and the distance required to travel for appointments, and this population is at an increasing risk for opioid misuses,” says Hung, who is co-director for USC’s Rural and Minority Health Research Center. “The Rural and Minority Health Research Center, in partnership with many South Carolina stakeholders and other universities, is excited to promote a non-pharmacologic, non-invasive, and accessible pain management method to rural South Carolinians suffering from chronic pain.”

Previous research has identified chronic pain as the number one reason that patients seek health care and the leading cause of disability. Reliance on medication to manage chronic pain has been tied directly to the opioid epidemic. 

This project is part of the National Institutes of Health’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative to address the impacts of pain and opioid addiction. Scientists, public health professionals, clinicians and policy makers are particularly interested in developing therapies that not only serve as effective alternatives to opioids but also prove to be accessible, affordable and sustainable for lifelong self-management.

A recent controlled trial at the University of Pittsburgh demonstrated the sustained effectiveness of auricular point acupressure in managing chronic pain. Subsequently, the team developed an app that teaches patients to self-administer this free, needleless method – making the therapy available any time, any place.

The next phase in this digital, widescale approach will be to redevelop the app to offer personalized protocols based on each patient’s pain problem. The updated version will also be offered on patients’ preferred platforms (e.g., smartphone, computer, tablet), collect data on real-time outcomes, and provide personalized motivational messages.

“Everyone’s journey to overcome chronic pain is unique, and we are committed to meeting individuals where they are, providing them an alternative treatment modality and reducing our society’s reliance on opioids,” Hung says. “We believe this new approach will facilitate a paradigm shift from a provider-centered, passive care model to an active patient-centered care model to educate, engage, and empower patients, specifically rural populations, to self-manage chronic pain in real-world settings.”

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