Clinical Research Of Simple Obesity Treatment With Ear Acupoint Press Plus Body Needle Therapy

ObjectiveThis randomized controlled clinical research takes body needle as comparison and observes the clinical curative effect of applying ear acupoint press plus body needle therapy to cure simple obesity. It discusses the clinical effect and functional mechanism of this therapy and provides the basis for the clinical treatment of simple obesity.MethodsThe research has 84 patients of simple obesity who were treated in Lin Jiaying's Chinese Medicine clinic in Kaohsiung, Taiwan from October 2008 to October 2009 and who met the Western Medicine and the Chinese Medicine diagnostic standards. Divide the patients into two groups with 42 in each group at the rate of 1:1. Four weeks make a period of treatment, and there are 2 periods in total. After every period of treatment, measure patients'height, weight, BWH (bust, waist and hips),BMI and other indexes. Measure blood and biochemical indexes like TC, TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C. After the two periods, the curative effect was evaluated. During the treatment, observe the adverse reactions and check the safety indexes.Method of data management and analysis:Use software EPIDATA 3.1 to set up the database and use software SPSS 17.0 for statistics and analysis. For the interclass comparison of numeration material, take t test (or rank sum test for two samples). For self circa comparison, take the t pair test or Wilcoxon pair rank sum test. For the interclass comparison of the classified material, takeχ2 test. For the interclass comparison of the ranked material, use Wilcoxon rank sum test. Draw the statistics graphs with software Graph Pad Prism 4.03. Result1. The clinical curative effect:For the Treatment Group, the recovery rate is 47.6%, the excellence rate is 35.7%, the effective power is 9.5% and the total effective power is 92.9%, while those of the Controlled Group are 33.3%,23.8%,30.9% and 88.1% respectively. Comparing curative effect of the two groups with rank sum test, the author finds the difference has statistical significance (P<0.05). The recovery rate of the Treatment Group is higher than that of the Controlled Group. Comparing the total effective power after treatment withχ2 test, the author finds the difference has no statistical significance (P>0.05). It shows that ear acupoint press plus body needle therapy can improve the curative rate of obesity.2. Index of weight:The weight indexes of the patients in the Treatment Group and the Controlled Group are lowered noticeably. Compared with those indexes before treatment, the difference has statistical significance (P< 0.01). The interclass comparison shows that the difference has statistical significance (P<0.01). The decrease level in the Treatment Group is more noticeable. It indicates body needle with ear acupoint press therapy can lower the BMI noticeably.3. BWH:The waist and hip measurements of two groups decrease. Compared with the measurement before treatment, the difference has statistical significance (P<0.01). Compare the curative effect of the two groups, and it is found that the difference has no statistical significance (P>0.05). The two groups haven't achieved good effect in improving the bust measurement.4. Blood fat:In the two groups, HDL rises a bit and the other three indexes including TC, TG and LDL decrease. The comparison with those before treatment and with the Controlled Group shows there's difference (P<0.05). The Treatment Group improves the blood fat indexes better and more obviously. It indicates that therapy of body needle with ear acupoint press can improve the metabolic disorder in the blood plasma of the simple obesity patients, and promote the positive change of blood fat.5. Appetite improvement:Compare the appetite improvement of the Treatment Group and the Controlled Group, and the author finds that the difference has statistical significance (P<0.01). All of the 42 patients of the Treatment Group have their appetite decreased, and about 76.2% of the patients improve their appetite at above 3 levels. Among the 42 patients in the Controlled Group, 40 of them have their appetite decreased, and 50％of them improve appetite at above 3 levels. The chi square test shows the difference has significance (P<0.05). Patients who are hungry before eating can press their ear acupoints and this method can reduce the feeling of hunger effectively.The check of safety shows that no abnormality is found in the patients whose blood, urine and stool routine test, liver and kidney function test and ECG test results were normal before treatment. It indicates the clinical safety.Body needle with ear acupoint press therapy adjusts the metabolism of fat, reduces the take-in of energy and increases the consumption of energy. In this way, it reaches the goal of losing weight and rebuilding shape. It's safe, reliable, simple and convenient and has lasting effect, so it's a very good way of reducing weight.ConclusionBased on the clinical results, the body needle with the ear acupoint press therapy can cure the simple obesity noticeably. It can adjust the TC, TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C level in the obesity patients'serum. It can balance the metabolism and achieve the goal of reducing weight. It is safe, reliable, simple and convenient and has lasting effect. As an effective method of reducing weight, it deserves being popularized.