The Clinical Study Of Electroacupuncture On The Jiaji Acupoints In The Treatment Of Lumbar Disc Herniation

Background:Lumbar disc herniation is a frequent source of lower back pain. It occurs most often between the forth and fifth lumbar vertebral bodies or between the fifth and the sacrum.Symptoms can affect the lower back,buttocks, thigh,and may radiate into the foot and/or toe.The reason for the pain is believed to be due to a local inflammation of the nerves.The sciatic nerve is the most commonly affected nerve,causing symptoms of sciatica,which is characterized by radiating pain along the lower limb,typically on one side of the body.The pain is sometimes so severe that there may be numbness, muscular weakness,tingling and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg. In Chinese medicine,it is believed that the pathogenesis is from stagnation of qi and blood stasis;thus,the treatment method strives to promote circulation to remove blood stasis which causes the pain.Electroacupuncture of the dense wave can decrease and suppress neural sensory and motor activity; thus it is commonly used in pain management.Objective:The study is a controlled experiment to investigate the curative effect of electroacupuncture on the jiaji acupoints in treating lumbar disc herniation.The observed indices include clinical symptoms according to the diagnostic guidelines in Chinese medicine,and pain scores by the Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) and Fairbank JC Low Back Pain Score Chart.Method:A total of 60 qualified lumbar disc herniation patients were randomly divided into treatment and control groups.The 30 patients in the treatment group were treated with electroacupuncture on the jiaji acupoints(according to the test results from the patient' s CT scan as to where the herniation was situated),huantiao and weizhong.After insertion of the needles and achieving the acupuncture sensation,the needles were attached to the electroacupuncture device G6805 at a frequency of 50/100Hz using the dense wave for 20 minutes.Needles were then retained for 30 minutes.The patients were treated 5 times per week for a total of 2 courses;10 times equal one course of treatment.Thirty patients in the control group were treated with routine acupuncture treatment.At the second and forth(last) week of treatment,the pain scores(VAS and Fairbank JC scores) and symptoms were assessed.Results:1.The basic information,including sex,age,course of condition,types of Chinese medical syndrome,was similar in the two groups(p>0.05) after analysis using the Chi-square test.2.At the end of the first course of treatment(i.e.the second week),the total effective rates of the treatment and control group were 56.7%and 40%, respectively,but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant(p>0.05).At the end of two courses of treatment,the total effective rates of the treatment and control group were 73.33%and 56.67%, respectively.The difference between the groups was statistically significant(p<0.05).3.The VAS scores in both the groups before treatment were analyzed via the t-test before treatment and found that they were not significantly different(p>0.05).At the end of the first course of treatment,the VAS score of the treatment group significantly decreased to 5.25±2.35(p<0.01),while that of the control group was 6.53±2.42(p<0.05).At the end of two courses of treatment,the VAS score of the treatment group dropped further to 3.57±1.54,the before and after difference was significant(p<0.01).When compared with the score achieved in the control group after two courses of treatment,the difference was not statistically different(p>0.05).4.The Fairbank JC pain scores in the treatment and control groups were 26.77±11.48 and 25.96±12.54,respectively.They were analyzed via the t-test before treatment and found that they were not significantly different (p>0.05).At the end of the first course of treatment,the Fairbank JC pain score of the treatment group significantly decreased to 18.14±8.56(p<0.01),while that of the control group was 22.53±8.21(p<0.05).The change between the groups was significant(p<0.05).At the end of two courses of treatment,the VAS score of the treatment group dropped further to 13.57±8.29,the before and after difference was significant(p<0.01).When compared with the score achieved in the control group after two courses of treatment(15.23±7.78),the difference was not statistically different(p>0.05).Conclusions:Results showed that treatment with electroacupuncture on the jiaji acupoints was more effective than routine acupuncture treatment.At the end of the first course of treatment,the treatment had significantly better results than the control group,however,their difference was not significantly different at the end of two courses of treatment.