ABSTRACT
[Objective] To observe the clinical effects of filiform-fire needle combined with abdominal acupuncture in treating ankylosing spondylitis(cold-dampness syndrome). [Methods] Sixty patients who met the criteria of AS were included in the study. They were randomly divided into treatment group and control group for 30 patients in each group. The patients of control group were treated with Diclofenac sodium sustained -release tablet and Salazosul-fpyridine intestinal solution, while treatment group were treated with filiform-fire needle combined with abdominal acupuncture on the basis of western medicine mentioned above.All patients were treated and observed for three months, and they were evaluated by score of TCM symptoms, thoracic activity, spinal activity, finger-floor distance, pillow-wall distance and blood parameters, such as C-reactive Protein(CRP), Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)and Immune Globulin A(IgA). [Results] The total effective rate in treatment group was higher than that in control group(P＜0.05).After treatment, the two groups all got lower scores of TCM symptoms than before, and the scores of the treatment group were significantly lower than the control group(P＜0.05).The thoracic activity, spinal activity, finger-floor distance and pillow-wall distance of all patients improved in varying degrees, and the blood parameters of CRP, ESR and IgA decreased compared with that before treatment, and significantly the treatment group was superior to control group(P＜0.05).[Conclusion] The filiform-fire needle combined with abdominal acupuncture can effectively relieve pain, improve functional activity of the spine and peripheral joints, reduce inflammation, slow disease progression and raise the quality of life of the patients.