ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of superficial needling plus external washing with Chinese herbal medicine in treating post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome.Methods Sixty patients with post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome were randomly allocated to treatment and control groups, 30 cases each. The treatment group received superficial needling plus external washing with Chinese herbal medicine and the control group, conventional acupuncture. Pain severity was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) and upper limb function was assessed using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) of motor recovery in the two groups before and after treatment. The clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups.Results The total efficacy rate was 96.7% in the treatment group and 83.3% in the control group; there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in the VAS score and the FMA score in the two groups (P<0.05). There were statistically significant post-treatment differences in the VAS score and the FMA score between the treatment and control groups (P<0.05).Conclusion Superficial needling plus external washing with Chinese herbal medicine is an effective way to treat post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome.
ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupoint application with Xiong Bi Tie in treating unstable angina pectoris. Method Sixty eligible subjects with unstable angina pectoris were randomized into a control group (treated with basic Western medication) and a treatment group (intervened by the basic Western medication plus acupoint application with Xiong Bi Tie), 30 cases in each group. The symptoms of unstable angina pectoris, syndromes and signs of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and cardiogram were recorded, and the clinical efficacies were also observed. Result In comparing the improvement of angina pectoris, the treatment group was better than the control group, with a statistical significance (P<0.05). From the perspective of TCM syndromes and signs, the efficacy of the treatment group was significantly better than that of the control group (P<0.05). Regarding the cardiogram, the total effective rate was 76.7% in the treatment group versus 50.0% in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Acupoint application with Xiong Bi Tie can significantly improve the angina symptoms and cardiogram result of unstable angina pectoris (blood stagnation caused by qi deficiency syndrome), and it’s safe and easy-to-operate.