Observations on the Efficacy of Pricking-cupping Bloodletting in Treating Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of Yang’s pricking-cupping bloodletting in treating cervical spondylotic radiculopathy and its effect on trapezius tension.Methods Seventy-eight patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy were randomly allocated to treatment and control groups, 39 cases each. The treatment group received pricking-cupping bloodletting and the control group, conventional acupuncture plus cupping. The nerve function was scored, the visual analogue scale (VAS) score was recorded and trapezius tension was measured in the two groups before and after treatment. The clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups.Results There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in the nerve function score, the VAS score and trapezius tension in the two groups (P0.05).Conclusions Yang’s pricking-cupping bloodletting can effectively improve pain symptoms and trapezius tension in patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy.