[Comparing the effect of acupuncture and oral piroxicam in reduced pain and improved function of patient with chronic mechanical low back pain]

Low Back pain [LBP] is extremely common. Studies have shown life time prevalence as high as 84%. Mechanical chronic LBP [mechanical CLBP] is the leading cause of LBP that have a multifactorial cause, which includes functional instability, abnormal posture and emotional stress. Treatment of these patients is aimed to reduced pain, maintaining mobility, and minimizing disability. This study compares acupuncture vs. oral prioxicam in the reduced pain and Active Daily living [ADL] improvement in mechanical CLBP. In a randomized trial, 52 patients with mechanical CLBP were recruited using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria from Shiraz medical university clinics. All patients classified two groups: A group received acupuncture [2 sessions per week] and B group received Oral piroxicam [30 mg/day] for 2 weeks respectively. Evaluation tools were pain intensity [VAS] and ADLs at baseline, after and 4 weeks after treatment. The analyses of variance showed that means VAS of group A was 7.39 +/- 0.42, 3.88 +/- 0.96 and 3.02 +/- 0.52, and group B was 7.12 +/- 0.61, 4.55 +/- 0.93 and 3.91 +/- 0.28 at baseline, after and 4 weeks after treatment, respectively [p<0.005]. Acupuncture was more effective than oral piroxicam in the reduced pain intensity and ADLs improvement of patients. However, preliminary results suggest that Long- term continuous treatment with acupuncture sustains the effectiveness in pain reduction

[Comparison of ibuprofen with acupuncture in reducing knee osteoarthritis pain]

Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease of humans. Acupuncture is one of the treatments for Osteoarthritis. This study aimed to compare Ibuprofen with acupuncture in the pain reduction in knee Osteoarthritis. This is a clinical trial which was performed in Shiraz Medical School Clinics in 2007. Forty six patients with chronic pain due to the knee Osteoarthritis were recruited using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. All the patients were randomly divided into two groups [A and B] who received Ibuprofen [1200 mg/day] or acupuncture [2 sessions per week] for 2 weeks, respectively. Evaluating measuring tools were pain intensity [based on VAS], ROM [based on degree] and morning stiffness of the knee joint. Collected data were analyzed by Chi-Square test, using SPSS software. Pain intensity at baseline, after the course of treatment and 3 weeks after the treatment in group A was 7.29 +/- 0.61, 4.20 +/- 0.93 and 5.20 +/- 1.32 cm, respectively; while these figures for group B were 7.35 +/- 0.82, 3.43 +/- 0.96 and 4.93 +/- 1.32 cm, respectively [p<0.005]. Also knee ROM degree in group A was 21.54 +/- 7.46, 13.08 +/- 5.60 and 15.38 +/- 3.2; and for group B was 20.36 +/- 7.19, 12.40 +/- 5.78 and 10.36 +/- 5.30, respectively [p=0.003]. Knee morning stiffness improved more in group B. Result of this study showed that both modalities significantly reduced the pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis and improved ROM while morning stiffness improved more in group B

[Comparison of effect of EMLA cream and injection of methyl prednisolone acetate relief of pain associated with carpal tunnel syndrome]

A standard treatment option for carpal tunnel syndrome [CTS] is local injection of anesthetic-corticosteroid. This clinical trial was designed to compare the safety and efficacy of daily application of the EMLA cream with that of a single injection of methyl prednisolone acetate. This is a clinical trial which was performed in the clinics of Shiraz medical school in 1386. Sixty five participants with clinical and electrodiagnostic evidence of mild to moderate CTS were randomized to receive either the EMLA cream [group 1] or one injection [40 mg] of methylprednisolone acetate at wrist [group 2]. Visual analog scale was used to assess the patients' pain acuity. Collected data were statistically analyzed by SPSS software using Chi-Square test. Pain intensity before and after treatment and also 4 weeks after treatment in group A was 5.8 +/- 0.98, 0.7 +/- 0.82 and 2.1 +/- 1.2 and 5.7 +/- 1, 2.4 +/- 1.5 and 1.6 +/- 1.4 in group B. The differences in pain intensity in both group were significant [p<0.001]. EMLA cream was effective in reducing pain associated with CTS. It can be an effective, noninvasive symptomatic treatment for the patients with mild to moderate CTS