Observation on therapeutic effect of acupuncture at abdomen acupoints plus tuina for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture at abdomen acupoints plus tuina for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LIDH).MethodsA total of 70 patients with LIDH were randomized into an observation group and a control group, with 35 cases in each group. The observation group was treated with acupuncture at abdomen acupoints plus tuina, while the control group was treated only with tuina treatment. The clinical efficacy was observed after one course of treatment.ResultsThe cure rate and the total effective rate of the observation group were 83.3% and 96.7%, respectively. The cure rate and the total effective rate of the control group were 39.4% and 78.8%, respectively. There were significant differences in the cured rate and the total effective rate between the two groups (both P<0.05). There was no significant difference in Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score between the two groups before treatment (P>0.05). After treatment, the JOA scores of both groups increased significantly, and the intra-group differences were statistically significant (both P<0.05); the JOA score of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05).ConclusionAcupuncture at abdomen acupoints plus tuina has a better therapeutic effect than tuina alone in the treatment of LIDH.