Different operation sequences between acupuncture and cupping therapy for lumbar muscle strain with cold and dampness: a randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the clinical efficacy on lumbar muscle strain with cold and dampness between the different operation sequences of acupuncture and cupping therapy.@*METHODS@#Seventy-six patients with lumbar muscle strain with cold and dampness were randomly divided into an acupuncture + cupping group (A + C group, 38 cases) and a cupping + acupuncture group (C + A group, 38 cases, 1 case dropped off). In the A + C group, cupping therapy was delivered 10 min after the end of treatment with acupuncture, while in the C + A group, acupuncture therapy was exerted 10 min after the end of treatment with cupping. Acupuncture was applied to Mingmen (GV 4), Yaoyangguan (GV 3), ashi point and bilateral Shenshu (BL 23), Dachangshu (BL 25), Weizhong (BL 40) and Yanglingquan (GB 34), and the needles were retained for 30 min in each intervention. Flash cupping was operated along the bilateral sides of the lumbar spine for 3 min, and the cups were retained for 10 min at bilateral Shenshu (BL 23), Dachangshu (BL 25) and ashi points. The intervention was delivered once every two days, 3 times weekly, for 3 weeks totally in each group. The scores of visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI), TCM syndrome score and the mean temperature of the lumbar region before and after treatment were compared between the two groups. The safety and the clinical efficacy were assessed for the interventions of the two groups.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the values before treatment, except for the sleep score of ODI, the VAS scores, ODI scores and TCM syndrome scores were decreased after treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05); while the mean temperature of the lumbar region was increased (P<0.01) in both groups. After treatment, the VAS score and the pain score of ODI in the C + A group were lower than those in the A + C group (P<0.05). The incidence rate of adverse reactions of the C + A group was lower than that of the A + C group (P<0.01). The effective rate in the A+C group was 92.1% (35/38), that in the C+A group was 94.6%(35/37), there was no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Different operation sequences between acupuncture and cupping therapy obtain the similar efficacy on lumbar muscle strain with cold and dampness, but cupping therapy delivered prior to acupuncture has certain advantages in relieving pain and improving safety.

Therapeutic effect of Yaotongning Capsules and thunder-fire moxibustion in treatment of 40 cases of lumbar disc herniation with cold and blood-stasis syndrome / 中草药

Objective: To explore the clinical efficacy effect of Yaotongning Capsules combined with thunder-fire moxibustion on lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods: A total of 80 LDH patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into observation group and control group, with 40 cases in each group. The observation group was treated with Yaotongning Capsules combined with thunder-fire moxibustion, and the control group was treated with ibuprofen sustained release capsule combined with thunder-fire moxibustion. VAS score, JOA score, ODI score and clinical efficacy were compared. Results: VAS scores and ODI scores of the two groups after treatment were lower than those before treatment (P < 0.05), and the JOA score was higher than that before treatment (P < 0.05); After treatment, the VAS score and ODI score in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05); After treatment, the JOA score was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The clinical efficacy of the observation group was better than that of the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The clinical treatment of Yaotongning Capsules combined with thunder-fire moxibustion treating LDH can obviously alleviate the pain symptoms and improve the daily function of the patients, which is worthy of further clinical application.

Effect of " Acupuncture" on postpartum low back pain: a randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of " Acupuncture" on postpartum low back pain.@*METHODS@#A total of 98 cases of postpartum low back pain were randomly divided into a control group (45 cases, 4 cases dropping) and a treatment group (47 cases, 2 cases dropping). Conventional acupuncture was treated in the control group, and " Acupuncture" was added in the treatment group on the basis treatment in the control group, acupuncture was applied at Baihui (GV 20), Neiguan (PC 6), Taichong (LR 3). The treatment was given 30 minutes each time, 5 times a week, 10 times for a total course of treatment. Before and after treatment, pain was assessed by the short-form of McGill pain questionnaire (SF-MPQ), dysfunction was assessed by Oswestry disability index (ODI), and depression was assessed by the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS). And the changes of various indexs were observed before and after treatment.@*RESULTS@#After treatment, the pain grade index (PRI) score, visual analog scale (VAS) score and present pain intensity (PPI) score in SF-MPQ of the control group and the treatment group were significantly lower than those before treatment (all <0.001). The ODI score and EPDS score were also significantly lower than those before treatment (all <0.001). The decline scores of the treatment group before and after treatment were significantly higher than those in the control group (<0.001, <0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#" Acupuncture" combined with conventional acupuncture and conventional acupuncture can effectively improve the symptoms of pain, dysfunction and depression in patients with postpartum low back pain, and the former is significantly better than the latter.

Clinical Observations on Short Thrust Needling Treatment for Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures / 上海针灸杂志

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of short thrust needling on osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.Method Seventy-two patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures were randomly allocated to observation and controlgroups, 36 cases each.In the observation group,short thrust needlingwas used with lifting-thrusting and twirling manipulation; the bone was rubbed with the needle tip up anddownin the place near the bone; reinforcing manipulation was performed for nine times after arrival of qi.The control group received conventional acupuncture with uniform reinforcing-reducing manipulation.Both groups were treated four weeks as a course for two courses.The Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) score and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI)score were recorded in the two groups before and after four and eight weeks of treatment.The clinical therapeutic effects were evaluated.Result The total efficacy rate was 94.4% in the observation group.Which was higher than 66.7% in the control group (P<0.05).Boththe VAS and ODI scores were lower after treatment compared with before (P<0.05) and decreased significantly more in the observation than in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion Short thrust needling canmarkedly relieve the pain and dysfunction in patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.Its the rapeutic effect is significantly better than that of conventional acupuncture.

Effects of Manual Therapy on Pain and Function of Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine how a manual therapy (joint mobilization and flexion-distraction technique) would affect pain and function with the chronic low back pain. METHODS: Thirty patients were assigned to either the experimental group (n=15) or the control group (n=15). Patients in the experimental group performed joint mobilization and flexion-distraction technique. Patients in the control group performed spinal decompression therapy. Both exercises were performed for three days per week, for a period of six weeks. Pain was measured by the visual analogue scale (VAS) and functional disability was measured using the Oswestry disability index (ODI). A paired t-test was used for identify differences before and after treatment, and an independent t-test was used to identify differences between treatment groups. RESULTS: In the within group comparison, the experimental group and control group differed significantly for all variables (p0.05). CONCLUSION: The above results confirmed that it is necessary to confirm the various benefits of therapy with the joint mobilization and the flexion-distraction technique. The findings of the concerned study will be useful to doctors applying therapy to treat patients with the chronic low back pain.

New methods for optical distance indicator and gantry angle quality control tests in medical linear accelerators: image processing by using a 3D phantom

PURPOSE: In order to keep the acceptable level of the radiation oncology linear accelerators, it is necessary to apply a reliable quality assurance (QA) program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The QA protocols, published by authoritative organizations, such as the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), determine the quality control (QC) tests which should be performed on the medical linear accelerators and the threshold levels for each test. The purpose of this study is to increase the accuracy and precision of the selected QC tests in order to increase the quality of treatment and also increase the speed of the tests to convince the crowded centers to start a reliable QA program. A new method has been developed for two of the QC tests; optical distance indicator (ODI) QC test as a daily test and gantry angle QC test as a monthly test. This method uses an image processing approach utilizing the snapshots taken by the CCD camera to measure the source to surface distance (SSD) and gantry angle. RESULTS: The new method of ODI QC test has an accuracy of 99.95% with a standard deviation of 0.061 cm and the new method for gantry angle QC has a precision of 0.43degrees. The automated proposed method which is used for both ODI and gantry angle QC tests, contains highly accurate and precise results which are objective and the human-caused errors have no effect on the results. CONCLUSION: The results show that they are in the acceptable range for both of the QC tests, according to AAPM task group 142.

Comparative Study of the Outcomes of Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy and Microscopic Lumbar Discectomy Using the Tubular Retractor System Based on the VAS, ODI, and SF-36

OBJECTIVE: Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) and microdiscectomy with the microscope endoscopic tubular retractor system(METRx-MD) are considered popular minimally invasive surgery (MIS) methods for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Many authors have also reported good clinical outcomes of these methods, but there are few comparative studies of them. This report compares the clinical outcomes of PELD and METRx-MD for lumbar disc herniation as MIS methods and discusses the efficacy of PELD. METHODS: Seventy-two patients who had undergone single-level unilateral discectomy using two different methods, PELD and METRx-MD, between 2009 and 2011 were given a follow-up examination prospectively. Thirty-seven of these patients underwent discectomy using PELD, and the remaining 35 patients underwent discectomy using METRx-MD. In addition to the general parameters, clinical outcomes were assessed as specific parameters using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), the Short-form 36 (SF-36), and the return-to-work time. RESULTS: Sixty-seven percent (25/37) of the patients in the PELD group and 74%(26/35) in the METRx-MD group were included in follow-up more than 6 months post-operatively. The mean improvements in the VAS scores for the back pain, leg pain, and ODI were 2.6, 4.8, and 30.1% for the PELD group and 2.8, 4.6, and 33.2% for the METRx-MD group, respectively. The SF-36 physical health component subscale score improved from 40.6 pre-operatively to 68.3 at the last follow-up for the PELD group post-operatively, and from 48.5 to 65.1 in the mental component subscale (METRx-MD group: from 34.4 to 66.5 and from 44.87 to 56.7). Complications occurred in 3/37 patients in the PELD group and in 2/35 patients in the METRx-MD group in the peri-operative period. The mean return-to-work times were 37.5 days in the PELD group and 42.5 days in the METRx-MD group. CONCLUSION: The outcomes for the PELD group are comparable to those for the METRx-MD group. It can thus be concluded that PELD for lumbar disk herniations may be performed safely and effectively. Also, PELD can be considered one of the treatment modalities of lumbar disk herniation.

THE EFFECT OF A SHORT-TERM WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAM IN OBESE MEN WITH SLEEP DISORDERED BREATHING / 体力科学

A number of studies have shown that sleep disordered breathing (SDB) has a strong relation with obesity. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a short-term weight-loss program in obese men with SDB. In our 14-week weight-loss program, forty-one obese men (mean±SD, age ; 49.6±10.8 yr, body mass index ; 27.9±2.5 kg/m²) were assigned to 2 subgroups : diet only (DO ; n=19) and diet plus aerobic exercise (DE ; n=22). 2%, 3%, and 4% oxygen desaturation index (ODI) were measured by pulse oximetry before and after the weight-loss program. Weight and %fat significantly (<i>p</i><0.05) decreased in the total subject pool consisting of DO plus DE (weight ; -8.4±3.5 kg, %fat ; -7.5±3.5%). 2%, 3%, and 4% ODI significantly decreased by -3.46±5.01 event/hour, -2.37±3.57 event/hour, and -1.99±2.84 event/hour, respectively. Significant correlations were found between 2%, 3%, and 4% ODI at baseline and changes of 2%, 3%, and 4% ODI during the weight-loss program (2% ODI ; r=0.48, 3% ODI ; r=0.51, 4% ODI ; r=0.67). Weight loss and %fat loss did not differ significantly between DO and DE (DO : -7.6±3.2 kg, -6.8±3.2%, DE : -9.2±3.7 kg, -8.1±3.7%). The increase in maximal oxygen uptake was slightly larger for DE (4.7±4.6 ml/kg/min) compared to DO (2.5±3.3 ml/kg/min), but there was no significant interaction. Changes of 2%, 3%, and 4% ODI did not differ significantly between groups. These results suggest that for obese men with SDB, the weight-loss program is an effective method, leading to improvement in SDB, although the combination of aerobic exercise to diet may not produce additional effects to SDB, compared with the diet only.

Early course and Long term follow-up after Automated Percutaneous Lumbar Discectomy and Short term follow-up after Nucleoplasty / 대한척추외과학회지

STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective study. OBJECTIVES: We wanted to compare the early course of APLD with the long term follow-up after APLD and also the long term follow up after APLD with the short term follow-up after nucleoplasty. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: We evaluated the postoperative clinical course of both APLD and nucleoplasty. The evaluation of the postoperative clinical course was performed by using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 59 patients who underwent APLD and nucleoplasty from 1989 to 2004. We defined the 26 cases with less than 5 years follow up as the early course follow-up after APLD, the 20 cases with over 5 years follow up as the long term after APLD, and 13 cases with less than 5 years follow up as the short term follow up after nucleoplasty. We then compared three groups. We inspected the condition of the discs on MRI and the level of the operated disc. RESULTS: The most common type of disc was a protruded disc (69.4%). Its ODI was lower than that of the extruded type. 5 cases out of the total group underwent open discectomy after APLD. In our study, the extruded type patients underwent a worse clinical course than protruded type patients. The patients who under went procedures at two affected disc levels had higher ODI scores compared to patients who underwent procedures at one level. The ODI score of the early course follow-up after APLD was 12.4%, the ODI of the long term follow up was 6.9% and that of the short term follow-up after nucleoplasty was 4.6%. CONCLUSIONS: On the long term follow-up, the patients who underwent APLD had significant improvement for any of the clinical parameters, as compared with their preoperative status. The patients who underwent nucleoplasty had a better prognosis than those patient who underwent APLD with less than 5 years follow up.

Compensation of female adults with openbite tendency / 대한치과교정학회지

The purposes of this study were to observe the compensation pattern of human female adults with openbite tendency and to provide the decision criteria of the diagnosis and treatment planning for those patients. Fifty patients with anterior openbite and fifty-five patients without anterior openbite patients were selected as a control and a test group. ODI of the all patients was below 66. Mean ages of the control and the test group were 23.88+/-4.53 and 24.7+/-6.20 years, respectively. Lateral cephalograms were taken and forty-one variables were measured. To identify the morphological differences between the groups, statistical analyses were performed. Statistically significant differences were found in the measured variables of lower face height, N-Me, ANS-Me, ANS-Me/N-Me ratio, Mx1-SN, Mx1-FH, Mx1-NA(mm), Mx1-APo, PP to Mx6, Mn1-NB(degree), Mn1-NB(mm). The test group showed decreased lower face height, N-Me, ANS-Me, ANS-Me/N-Me ratio, more uprighted and retruded maxillo-mandibular incisors. Overeruption of the maxillary first molar was found in the control group.

The determinants of vertical oberbite and overbite depth indicator(ODI) / 대한치과교정학회지

The concept of denture frame, both the vertical and horizontal relationship of the dentitions are ultimately related to a skeletal configuration, leads to postulate that the vertical overbite will be determined by the jaw rotations and anteroposterior jaw relationship. Also, ODI is analyses to be composed of the determinant factors of overbite such as FMA, PPA and FABA. From the geometric analyses of an interrelationship between the ODI and the overbite determinants, the following formula can be induced : ODI norm =85degrees- 0.5PMA-(1.08-0.01 FMA)(FABA-81degrees). This formula indicates that the norm of ODI is not constant value but variable one accordint to the individual skeletal frames. Through the application of the formula to the various clinical cases, it is proved that the new concept, relativity of the ODI norm, is very diagnostically useful.

A roentgenographic study on the extraction index in Korean adolescent / 대한치과교정학회지

To extract or not to extract permanent teeth for the correction of malocclusion has been a great debate in the history of orthodontics, and there is a variety of analytic methods and criteria to aid in the diagnosis. Extraction formulas that has been presented are many analytic methods that depend on arch length discrepancy, dental prominence, and skeletal pattern of the each patients. Of these analysis, the most important diagnostic factor is patient's skeletal pattern. Because the behavior of the dentition is closely dependent upon the skeletal pattern of each patient, dentition must be arranged within that person's skeletal frame. El(Extraction Index) is composed of CF, interincisal angle, and lip position, CF is made of ODI and APDI that differentiate vertical and horizontal component of the skeletal pattern. So, EI not only represents patient's skeletal pattern, but also takes facial appearance into consideration, This study was undertaken to investigate EI and related cephalometric variables on the cephalogram of Korean adolescents which consisted of 153 persons with normal occlusion, harmonious skeleton and pleasing face. The following conclusions were obtained. 1. The mean value of the ODI is 73.5degrees, APDI 82.5degrees, CF 156.3degrees 2. The mean value of the interincisal angle is 123.6 degrees. 3. The mean distance of upper lip to E-line is 0.0mm, lower lip to E-line is 1.4mm. 4. The mean value of the EI is 153.8degrees.

A longitudinal change of ODI and APDI on three facial growth patterns in Koreans with normal occlusion / 대한치과교정학회지

The purpose of this study was to analyze the growth changes of ODI and APDI with age on the three facial growth patterns. The biennial serial cephalometric radiographs of 19 male and 14 famale samples with normal occlusion during 10 years were used in this study. The samples were divided into three groups - drop type, neutral type, forward type - by the total change of the Y-axis during the periods of the study. The findings in this investigation indicated the following: 1. The mean values and standard deviations of each age group in each facial type of male and famale were obtained. 2. The difference of ODI and APDI among the 3 facial types was not significant through all observed ages(P>0.05). The size of ODI appeared large consistently in order of the drop, neutral, and forward type in both male and female through all observed ages. 3. The ODI and APDI were maintained without any changes with age during the periods of the study(P>0.05). 4. In correlation analysis between the total change of the Y-axis and 6 measurements, the AB plane angle and facial angle showed correlation in both male and female(P0.05).