ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of mallet needle plus acupuncture in treating stiff neck. Method Eighty patients with stiff neck were randomly allocated to treatment and control groups, 40 cases each. The treatment group received mallet needle therapy plus acupuncture and the control group, acupuncture alone, for three consecutive days. In the two groups, the Pain Rating Index (PRI) score and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score were recorded before and after treatment and the clinical therapeutic effects were evaluated after treatment. Result The PRI score and the VAS score decreased in both groups after treatment compared with before (P<0.05) and decreased more in the treatment group than in the control group at the end of treatment (P<0.05). The total efficacy rate was 95.0% in the treatment group and 87.5% in the control group; there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). Conclusion Mallet needle therapy plus acupuncture is more effective than acupuncture alone in treating stiff neck.