RESUMO
Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of heat-sensitive point Dazhui(GV14) moxibustion in treating cervical spondylotic radiculopathy. Method Ninety-six patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy were randomly allocated to a heat-sensitive point Dazhui moxibustion (observation) group of 30 cases, a non-heat-sensitive point Dazhui suspended moxibustion (control) group of 33 cases and a medication group of 33 cases. The observation group received heat-sensitive point Dazhui moxibustion; the control group, non-heat-sensitive point Dazhui suspended moxibustion; the medication group, oral administration of Jingtong granules. The clinical symptoms were assessed and serum hypersensitive C-reactive protein (HsCRP) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were measured in the three groups before and after 15 days of treatment. Result All the three treatments had a certain effect on cervical spondylotic radiculopathy. The therapeutic effect was best in the observation group (P0.05). Conclusion The therapeutic effect of heat-sensitive point Dazhui moxibustion is better than those of non-heat-sensitive point Dazhui suspended moxibustion and oral Jingtong granules. It is a more ideal way to treat cervical spondylotic radiculopathy. The mechanism of its action may be related to post-treatment decrease in inflammatory factors in the lesion.