Clinical effects of acupuncture after surgical operation in patients with prolapse of the lumbar intervertebral disc.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effects of acupuncture after surgical operation in patients with prolapse of the lumbar intervertebral disc (PLID). METHODS: Sixty-nine patients in this series, who had undergone the removal of nucleus pulposus and the intervertebral fusion as well, were randomly divided into a treatment group of 35 cases and a control group of 34 cases. The former was treated by acupuncture and conventional rehabilitation therapy, and the latter only by the rehabilitation therapy. The therapeutic effects were evaluated according to the scoring system stipulated by Japanese Orthopedics Association (JOA). RESULTS: In the treatment group, the average functional recovery rates in 3-month, 6-month and one-year periods were respectively 49.93%, 90.31% and 95.08%; while the rates were repesctively 26.24%, 63.42% and 71.36% in the control group, showing statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture can confirmatively promote the functional recovery for'patients with prolapse of the lumbar intervertebral disc after surgical removal of nucleus pulposus and with intervertebral fusion.

Clinical observation on effects of qianggu capsules in treating radius distal osteoporotic fractures / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects of qianggu capsules (QGC) on the fracture healing and the bone mineral density (BMD) in radius distal osteoporosis fracture (RDOF) patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Bone mineral density (BMD) of femoral neck in 65 patients with RDOF was detected after the fracture was fixed manually. They were then randomly divided into two groups. Thirty-three patients in the treated group took QC, 1 capsule (180 mg) each time, three times a day, while 32 patients in the control group took D-Cal Biocal 2 tablets (1500 mg) each time, once daily. The therapeutic course for both groups was three months. X-ray examination on the broken end of the fractured bone was taken every month to observe the bony callus formation for comparing the curative effect, and BMD of femoral neck were detected again after patients were treated for 3 months. The bony callus appeared earlier, more in volume with thicker cortex in the treated group after 2 months of treatment versus that in the control group. The fracture healing time in the treated group was 9.4 +/- 2.5 weeks and that in the control group was 12.5 +/- 2.9 weeks, showing significant difference between them (P < 0.05). BMD in the treated group before treatment was 0.621 +/- 0.085 g/cm2, which was lower than that after treatment (0.646 +/- 0.090 g/cm2) with significant difference showing between them (P < 0.05), while no significant change of BMD was found in the control group between before and after treatment, and significant difference was found in BMD between the two groups after treatment (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>QGC can promote the formation of bony callus ahead of time, increase the volume of bony callus and BMD, improve the bone structure, and thus the time of external fixation in treating RDOF could be reduced.</p>