Effects of combining electro-acupuncture, traditional massage, magnet-heating and lumbar traction in the treatment of herniated lumbar disc

Background: Herniated lumbar disc is a very common disease in the age group of 20-50 year olds the worldwide, likewise in Vietnam. There are many traditional therapies for treating this disease, such as electro-acupuncture, traditional massage, and traditional drugs... Objectives: To evaluate the effects and side-effects of combining electro-acupuncture, traditional massage, magnet-heating and lumbar traction in treating herniated lumbar disc. Subjects: 60 patients with herniated lumbar disc, over 20 years of age, were treated at the Department of Traditional Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hospital of Traditional Medicine between July 2006 and October 2007. Method: Prospective, clinical case-controlled trial. Participants were divided equally into two groups: intervention and control group. The treatment lasted for 30 days. Data was analyzed by SPSS software, version 11.5. Results: After 30 days of treatment, there were significant improvements in intervention patients about Lasegue sign, elasticity of lumbar spine, and daily movements when compared to control group. Outcomes after 30 days of treatment in the control group were 16.7% of very good, 43.3% of good, and 40% of moderate. Intervention group had better results, with 46.7% of very good, 46.7% of good, and 6.6% of moderate (p <0.01). There was not any side-effect observed in this trial. Conclusion: The combination of electro-acupuncture, traditional massage, magnet - heating and lumbar traction is a safe method and is an effective treatment for herniated lumbar disc.

Evaluating the risk of arrythmia-ralated complications in the patients with post-myocardial infarction

The signal averaged electrocardiogram was used to analyse about 100 to 300 heart leads. Then the high resolution electrocardiograms were processed to identify the low intensive high-frequency electric signals at the end of QRS complexes that expressed the late potential and were the background of ventricular arrhythmias. There was a strong relationship between the arrythmias that were triggered by programmed physiological electric stimulations and the presence of late potential. The late potential also related to the increase in sudden death frequency of post MI patients. It is a value predictor for arrythmic events