The Clinical Study Of Combined Therapy Of Electro-and Auricular Acupuncture In The Treatment Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Background:Chronic fatigue syndrome(CFS) is a disorder that causes extreme fatigue where it is not the kind of tiredness that goes away after rest. Instead,it lasts a long time and limits the ability to do ordinary daily activities.Symptoms of CFS include fatigue for 6 months or more and experiencing other problems such as muscle pain,memory loss,headaches,pain in multiple joints,insomnia,sore throat and tender lymph nodes.Since the cause of CFS is still unclear and many other illnesses can cause similar symptoms,CFS is difficult to diagnose.There is no widely accepted treatment protocol for the condition;thus,treatment is aimed at symptom relief and improved function.Complementary and alternative medicine,however,have reported satisfactory results in the treatment of CFS.Objective:We carried out a controlled experiment to investigate the therapeutic effect of a combined electro- and auricular acupuncture therapy in the treatment of CFS.The treatment group used acupuncture treatment and the control group used a combined herbal concoction of suanzaorentang and ganmaidazaotang.Method:As per the diagnostic guidelines,a total of 60 qualified CFS patients were chosen to participate in the experiment.They were randomly divided into treatment and control groups.The 30 patients in the treatment group were treated with combined electro- and auricular acupuncture.The chosen acupoints were baihui,neiguan,shenmen,zusanli,and sanyinjiao.After routine sterilization,needles of length 40-60mm from the TianYi Brand were inserted into the selected points.After the acupuncture sensation was achieved,the needles were attached to the electroacupuncture device G6805 at a frequency of 2/100Hz using the sparse-dense wave for 30 minutes.The patients were treated 5 times per week for a total of 2 courses;10 times equal one course of treatment.The treatment combines auricular acupuncture by pressing seeds of wangbuliuxing herb onto the following selected points:xin, gan,shenmen,pizhixia,and jiaogan.Point pressing was done on alternating ears at each treatment.Patients were told to press onto the seed 3-5 times per day,each time lasting about 5 minutes.Patients in the control group were treated with the combined concoction of suanzaorentang and ganmaidazaotang.Additional herbs were added to the concoction according to the different types of Chinese medical syndromes.The deficiency of the heart and gall-bladder qi longchi and ginseng were added; the excessive heat in the heart,chuanlian and zhizi were added;the deficiency of blood in the heart,danggui and longyanrou were added;the deficiency of yin with heat,shengdi and maidong were added;the deficiency of the defensive qi,wuweizi was added.They were prescribed intake once daily for 4 weeks.Results:Both treatment and control groups had significant results after treatment(p<0.05);the FS-14 score significantly improved(p<0.01).The change in the two groups before and after treatment was significant(p<0.05).Conclusions:Both treatment methods were effective in improving CFS symptoms; but the combined electro-and auricular acupuncture therapy was more effective in treating CFS than intake of herbal concoction.