ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe clinical therapeutic effect of pricking blood therapy combined with acupuncture on arthralgia syndrome.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and ninety-two cases were randomly divided into a local pricking blood therapy combined with acupuncture group and a simple acupuncture control group, 96 cases in each group. Their therapeutic effects were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The cured rate and the total effective rate were 83.3% and 100.0% in the treatment group and 31.0% and 87.0% in the control group with a significant difference or a very significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); the mean times for cure in the treatment group was superior to that in the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Pricking blood therapy combined with acupuncture has an obvious and definite therapeutic effect on arthralgia syndrome.</p>