ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of SU Jia-fu's Wenjing Tongdu external treatment combined with long-snake moxibustion at the governor vessel for neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury. METHODS: A total of 64 patients with neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 32 cases in each group. The patients in the control group were treated with routine acupuncture and rehabilitation of bladder function; based on the treatment in the control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with SU Jia-fu's Wenjing Tongdu external treatment combined with long-snake moxibustion at the governor vessel, twice a week for 8 weeks. Urodynamic test, including residual urine volume (RUV), maximum flow rate of urination (Qmax), bladder pressure at filling phase (Pves), maximum detrusor pressure (Pdet-max) and maximum urinary bladder volume (VMCC), was performed before and after 8-week treatment. RESULTS: The urodynamic indexes in the two groups were improved compared with before treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05); after treatment, VMCC in the observation group was significantly higher than the control group (P<0.01), while RUV and Pves in the observation group were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, there was no significant difference in Qmax and Pdet-max between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on routine acupuncture and rehabilitation of bladder function, SU Jia-fu's Wenjing Tongdu external treatment combined with long-snake moxibustion at the governor vessel could effectively improve urodynamic indexes, reduce residual urine, reduce bladder pressure and increase the maximum capacity of bladder, thereby improving bladder compliance and bladder function.