ABSTRACT
Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) combined with tuina for chronic tension-type headache (CTTH). Methods:A total of 97 CTTH cases were randomly allocated into an observation group (n=52) and a control group (n=45). Patients in the observation group were treated with EA plus tuina based on pattern identification, whereas patients in the control group were treated with oral amitriptyline and oryzanol. Patients in both groups were treated for 8 weeks. A follow-up was conducted 3 months after the treatment. The intensity, duration, and frequency of the headache were recorded and compared before and after the treatment. Additionally, the patients' psychological state and quality of life (QOL) were compared between the two groups. Results:There were intra-group statistically significant differences in headache intensity score, headache duration, and headache frequency after the treatment and during the follow-up compared with those before the treatment (allP0.05). The World Health Organization quality of life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) scores were significantly reduced in both groups after the treatment or during the follow-up (allP<0.05); and the scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (allP<0.05) during the same time frame. The total effective rate was 88.0% in the observation group, versus 71.4% in the control group, showing a significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusion:EA combined with tuina can significantly decrease the frequency of chronic tension-type headache, alleviate headache intensity, shorten headache duration, and improve the patients' wellness. It is better than amitriptyline plus oryzanol.
ABSTRACT
Conventional Western medicine (CWM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have different approaches and lead to different practices in experimental design, research methodology, regulation, and standards. TCM emphasizes on the optimal or holistic health. In contrast, CWM is an allopathic medicine primarily based on anatomy, biology, biochemistry, molecular biology and modern technology, and rejects the concept of invisible substances and quantum entanglement. Consequently, CWM emphasizes on abnormal lab tests or obvious diseases. In the early 1970s, TCM and acupuncture quickly emerged as an alternative to CWM as Westerners explored new TCM concepts while questioning the side effects of CWM. Many countries accept traditional acupuncture as a legal alternative medical practice. Some CWM physicians nowadays are more enthusiastic and are receptive to learning and practicing acupuncture. The common goal of CWM and TCM is to enhance human health, but problems arise over differences in approach. As a response to some Western journal papers that failed to validate the real acupuncture effect because of their incorrect methodologies and their ignorance of the holistic acupuncture approaches, the authors hereby present a group of case studies to demonstrate the real and unique effects of genuine acupuncture. The objective was to explore the clinical effects of acupuncture for knee pain. Thirty-six patients with knee pain were divided into five groups based on age. Holistic TCM diagnosis was performed at the beginning of each case and then made a personalized acupuncture treatment prescription according to the root of illness found by the diagnosis. The symptoms and signs were recorded before and after every treatment, and the treatment effects were assessed based upon the self-reported feeling and the observed changes of the patient following the numeric rating scale (NRS). The results were summarized after the completion of the minimal 5 acupuncture treatments or the standard 10 acupuncture treatments. Among the 36 patients who participated in the cases studies, 17 patients reported a complete healing for knee pain (47.2%). About 60 kinds of illness other than knee pain were improved (98.9%) and the complete healing rate was about 44.2%. This leads to the conclusion that TCM acupuncture is remarkably effective in treating knee pain. TCM and CWM share a common goal in promoting the health of human being. The efficacy of TCM acupuncture in treating knee pain shouldn't be denied or distorted.