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Study Design.

A randomized controlled trial.

Objective.

To investigate the effectiveness and cost of usual care plus patient choice of acupuncture, chiropractic, or massage therapy (choice) compared with usual care alone in patients with acute low back pain (LBP).

Summary of Background Data.

Few studies have evaluated care models with facilitated access to and financial coverage for adjunctive complementary and alternative medicine therapies.

Methods.

A total of 444 patients with acute LBP (< 21 days) were recruited from 4 clinical sites and randomized into 2 groups: usual care or choice. Outcomes included symptoms (bothersomeness), functional status (Roland), and satisfaction between baseline and 5 weeks, and cost of medical care in the 12 weeks after randomization.

Results.

After 5 weeks, providing patients with a choice did not yield clinically important reductions in symptoms (median− 4,[interquartile range …