Effect of fluid acupuncture therapy combined with spectrum therapy for relieving pain due to chronic soft tissue injury

Quanquan WANG; Hailin CHEN

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Simple acupuncture therapy often fails to produce significant relief of pain induced by chronic soft tissue injury, but liquid acupuncture therapy, with its longer action on the acupoint and the synergistic effect of the drugs, may, at least theoretically, have better effect.

OBJECTIVE:

To observe the effect of fluid acupuncture therapy with compound Danshen injection solution combined with spectrum therapy for relieving pain caused by chronic soft tissue injury.

DESIGN:

A case-control observation

SETTING:

Health Clinic, College of Engineering of Nanjing Agricultural University

PARTICIPANTS:

Ninety-four outpatients with chronic soft tissue injury treated in the Health Clinic of College of Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University between May 2001 and November 2004 participated in this experiment on a voluntary basis. The patients were divided into liquid acupuncture therapy combined with spectrum therapy group (Combined treatment group)and acupuncture control group, with 47 patients in each group.

METHODS:

In combined treatment group, the acupuncture was administered on the acupoints offengchi (GB 20), tianzong (SI11), quyuan (SI13),ashixue, beishuxue, and jiajixue. Compound Danshen injection solution was injected into each acupoint 2 to 3 cm. Two acupoints were chosen from each region of pain for injection every other day, for 30 days for a treatment course. After the injection, the sites of injection were subjected to spectrum therapy for 30 minutes every other day, for 30 days for a treatment course. One course of acupuncture and spectrum therapy was administered separately. In the acupuncture control group, the above acupoints were chosen for simple acupuncture therapy in identical treatment course.Visual anologue score (VAS) was used for evaluation of the therapeutic effects before and 1 course after the therapy. Remarkable effect was defined by reduction rate of VAS ＞80% after therapy, improvement by VAS reduction by 20% and 80%, and no effect by VAS reduction by ＜ 20%.MAIN OUTCOME

MEASURES:

VAS score of the patients in the twogroups before and 1 course after therapy, and curative effect 1 treatment course after therapy.

RESULTS:

VAS of the patients in the acupuncture control group and combined therapy group was significantly decreased after 1 course of therapy in comparison with that before therapy (1.30±0.90 vs 6.57±1.21 for the former and 0.50±0.40 vs 6.64±1.13 for the latter, t=23.958 and 35.116, P ＜ 0.01).Reduction rate of the score was significantly higher in combined therapy group than in the control group [(93.14±10.12)% vs (80.13±11.08)%,t=8.764, P ＜ 0.01], and so was the total effective rate (remarkable effect rate and improvement rate, 93.6% vs 78.7%, χ2=4.644, P ＜ 0.05 )].

CONCLUSION:

Fluid acupuncture with compound Danshen injection solution in combination with spectrum therapy can significantly relieve the pain caused by chronic soft tissue injury, with better effect than simple acupuncture therapy.