Efficacy and Safety of Electroacupuncture for Postoperative Insomnia in Patients With Spinal Metastasis: Protocol of a Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Study.

Can Electroacupuncture Help Cancer Patients Sleep Better After Spine Surgery?

If you or a loved one has undergone surgery for spinal metastasis — cancer that has spread to the spine — you may know how difficult sleep can be in the recovery period. Postoperative insomnia is a common and serious problem for these patients. Poor sleep slows physical recovery, lowers quality of life, and can even affect how well treatment works overall.

Currently, doctors often turn to sleeping medications to manage this problem. But these drugs can carry side effects, interact with other cancer treatments, and may not be ideal for an already vulnerable population. Researchers in China are now investigating whether electroacupuncture — a form of acupuncture that uses gentle electrical stimulation through the needles — could offer a safer, effective alternative.

A new clinical trial is being designed to test exactly this. The study will enroll 196 patients who develop insomnia after spinal metastasis surgery. Half will receive real electroacupuncture treatments, and half will receive sham (fake) acupuncture as a comparison. Each participant will have 12 treatment sessions over four weeks, beginning the day after surgery.

Researchers will measure sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index — a well-validated questionnaire — along with wrist-worn activity monitors that objectively track sleep patterns. They will also assess mood, cancer-related quality of life, and depression symptoms.

The trial hasn't started yet — recruitment is planned to begin in mid-2026 — so results are not yet available. However, the rigorous design of this study is an important step toward building solid evidence for electroacupuncture as a tool in cancer recovery care.

If you are interested in acupuncture as part of your recovery plan, speak with a licensed acupuncturist who has experience working with oncology patients.

This multicenter, prospective RCT protocol evaluates electroacupuncture (EA) versus sham acupuncture for postoperative insomnia in patients with spinal metastasis (SM). The study addresses a clinically distinct population underrepresented in existing acupuncture insomnia literature, with unique postoperative and oncological considerations. A total of 196 patients will be randomized 1:1 to verum EA or sham control, commencing treatment on postoperative day one. The intervention consists of 12 sessions (30 min/session, 3×/week for 4 weeks). Primary outcome is change in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score at week 4. Secondary outcomes include actigraphy-derived parameters (sleep efficiency, total sleep time, sleep latency, WASO, awakening frequency), Insomnia Severity Index, PHQ-9, and SOSGOQ 2.0. ITT analysis will be applied. Follow-up extends to week 12. No effect size data are yet available as recruitment begins mid-2026. This protocol represents a methodologically rigorous effort to establish EA as a viable non-pharmacological intervention for postoperative insomnia in oncology spine surgery patients.