Effect and Safety of CX-DZ-II Intelligent Electroacupuncture Therapeutic Instrument for Neck Pain Caused by Cervical Spondylos: Study Protocol for A Randomized Controlled Trial / 中国结合医学杂志

BACKGROUND@#Neck pain caused by cervical spondylosis (CS) is a chronic pain condition, with an increasingly high incidence in the general population. Electroacupuncture is a common analgesic modality that has been widely applied in neck pain treatment. However, current electroacupuncture instruments used in the clinic have low intelligence levels and obscure parameter standards. We here designed this study for assessing the effect and safety of a new, intelligent electroacupuncture instrument, the CX-DZ-II, in treating neck pain.@*METHODS@#The present study is a prospective, two-center, randomized, controlled, open-label, non-inferiority trial for CX-DZ-II on treating neck pain caused by CS. Totally 160 eligible patients will be included in this trial and randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group in a 1:1 ratio. A semi-standard acupoint selection strategy will be employed. In the experimental group, selected acupoints will be stimulated by CX-DZ-II. Electroacupuncture treatment will be accomplished by a pre-existing electroacupuncture instrument in the control group. The duration of treatment will be 2 weeks. The primary outcome is the change of Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score after one course of treatment. The secondary outcomes include the VAS scores after each treatment, the responder rate, drug-usage rate of non-steroidal antipyretic analgesics, the rate of adverse events occurrence, and the performance of instrument.@*DISCUSSION@#This study will evaluate the effect and safety of the CX-DZ-II intelligent electroacupuncture therapeutic instrument in comparison with a pre-existing non-intelligent instrument in the treatment of neck pain caused by CS. The results will hopefully demonstrate a more optimal electroacupuncture instrument for the treatment of neck pain. (Trial registration No. gov NCT03005301).

Review on sustained effect of acupuncture / 中国针灸

The sustained effect of acupuncture refers to the lasting effect after the cease of acupuncture. Through large amount of acupuncture clinical practices and experimental researches, the objective existence of the sustained effect of acupuncture is approved. However, the lasting period of acupuncture effect may be related with category and stage of disease, individualized acupuncture reaction, acupuncture methods, intervals between treatments and therapeutic course. Therefore, it has great scientific significance and practice value to carry out further systematic and in-depth research on effect onset time of different diseases as well as the discipline of the sustained effect, so as to promote and prolong acupuncture effect.

Professor GUAN Ji-duo: a well-renowned acupuncturist in Sichuan province / 中国针灸

As a famous TCM physician and acupuncturist in our country, professor GUAN Ji-duo, who was determined to study medicine and save life from a child, has been engaged in teaching and clinical work of acupuncture and moxibustion for more than sixty years. With a lifetime writing and tireless teaching, he has made every effect, from small clue to see what is coming, to be well-versed in the learning of both ancient and modern times and learn widely from others' points to devote all his life for the development and innovation of acupuncture and moxibustion. With deep study on syndrome differentiation of meridians, he has focused on acupoint combination, advocated on painless insertion of needle, and made "smokeless moxa-stick" to form a unique academic thought. At the age of more than 90, professor GUAN still insists on outpatient clinic, which is highly respected.