Table 1

Schedule for data collection and outcome measurement

	Baseline	Active treatment								Follow-up
Measures	Week 0	1st week		2nd week		3rd week		4th week		8th week*	12th week*
Sociodemographic characteristics	√
Back pain history	√
Physical examination	√
Visual analogue scale for back pain	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Oswestry Disability Index		√			√				√	√	√
EuroQol 5-Dimensions		√			√				√	√	√
Adverse events		√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√

*8, 12-weeks indicates 4 and 8 weeks, respectively, after 4 weeks of electroacupuncture treatment.