Clinical Study On The Effect Of Catgut Implantation At Acupoint And Warm Needling Moxibustion On Treating Chronic Lumbar Muscle Strain

ObjectiveBy randomized controlled study and simultaneously multidisciplinary observation, to objectively assess the clinical effect and safety about the Catgut Implantation at Acupoint and warm needling moxibustion on treating chronic lumbar muscle strain. Looking forward to further standardize the clinical research of chronic lumbar muscle strain and get better social benefits. To establish an essential/necessary system and provide rigorous scientific study data for Chinese medicine clinical research on the prevention and treatment of chronic lumbar muscle strain.MethodsStudy objects were qualified patients with chronic lumbar muscle strain. They were assigned to the test group(Catgut Implantation at Acupoint group)and the control group(warm needling moxibustion group) with 1:1 ratio. All groups were not less than 30 cases and this trial Adopted simple randomized grouping method. Treatment:warm needling moxibustion group: acupoints selecting:BL23(both sides), BL25(both sides), Ashi points(1～2 points). Tools selecting:pure moxa stick,1.5 inch stainless steel needles of No.30 Hua Tuo Brand. Method of operation:after patients taking an appropriate body posture, use 1.5 inch needles,according to patient's body type, puncture a certain depth, partial soreness and distention or radiation to the lower limbs for getting Qi,cut the pure moxi stick into moxa cones as moxibustion heat,about 2cm in length each, light the bottom of the moxa cones and insert to the top of the needles,2 cones at each point,retain 30 minutes.Course of Treatment:three times a week, for three weeks'treatment totally, observe the effect of every week, and trace the effect one month after treatment. Catgut implantation group:apoints selecting:BL23(both sides), BL25(both sides), Ashi points(1～2 points). Tools selecting:choose No.000 Medical Chromic catgut and No.8 injector pinhead as syringe/needles,2 inch needle with diameter of 0.3mm as needle core. Method of operation:after patients taking an appropriate body posture, put lcm long catgut into the tip of pinhead (while the needle within the pinhead instincts), thread within the inside edge of the needle tip. Sterilize the Point of skin, tauten skin with left hand, punture the pinhead into the acpionts for 1.5～2.0cm rapidly, then make needle into the core with inward force, while withdraw the pinhead slowly, so that catgut stay in the pionts, make sure that there was no thread exposed and sterile dressing and strapping were applied to pin hole for 24 hours.Statistical analysis and data summary:using Epi Data software for statistical analysis.Using statistical software to analyze and compare the overall clinical effect, clinical symptoms and signs effect after treatment, then to have an objective evaluation on clinical effect and its safety.Statistical methods:categorical data using Chi-Square test, ranked data using two- samples compared Wilcoxon rank sum test(adjusted), compare means of two samples using t-test or Wilcoxon rank sum test, before and after itself using paired-samples t-test or Wilcoxon paired rank sum test. Statistics calculated by using statistical software SPSS17.0 to complete statistical analysis.ResultsThis clinical trial adopted randomized controlled test methods. In this study, a total of 60 cases of qualified volunteers, the test group was 30 cases, the control group was 30 cases. They were all inpatients and outpatients.Comparability testing:age, sex, extent,symptoms, signs, tongue demonstration, pulse in the two group before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05).Effect comparison:comparing Chinese medicine syndromes of two groups, there was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05).The clinical curative rate of the test group was 53.3%, markedly effective rate was 23.3%, effective rate was 16.6%, total effective rate was 93.3%;clinical curative rate of the control group was 43.3%, markedly effective rate was 26.6%, effective rate was 20.0%, total effective rate was 90.0%. There was no statistically significant difference (P> 0.05) between the two groups, meaning that the effect of Catgut Implantation at Acupoint group and the warm needling moxibustion group was equivalent in treating chronic lumbar muscle strain.Comparing the status of changes on cold pain, heavy sensation or soreness.numbness, continuously-fixed pain, limitation of movement, tenderness in lumbar, there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) between the two groups after the treatment, indicating that the effect of this two therapy was equivalent in the above aspects. Comparing the status of changes on intension of pain, dull pain and soreness, there was statistically significant difference (P<0.05), meaning that the effect of catgut implantation at Acupoint was better than warm needling moxibustion in relieving pain.Comparing the disappearance rate of clinical symptoms, signs, cold pain, heavy sensation or soreness, numbness, continuously-fixed pain, pain alleviated by heat, likes being pressed and warmed, pain becoming worse by tiredness or in the morning while wake up, or when sitting for a long time, pain in a fixed place, limitation of movement, tenderness in lumbar, number of the tender piont, purple dark tongue or tougue with ecchymosis, white tongue coating, deep slow moderate pulse or deep tense pulse, choppy thin pulse, there was no statistically significant difference(P>0.05)between the two groups after treatment, indicating that the effect of this two therapy was equivalent in the above aspects. Comparing the disappearance rate of dull pain and sorseness,there was statistically significant difference(P<0.05), meaning that the effect of catgut implantation at acupoint was better than warm needling moxibustion in eliminating the symptoms of dull pain or soreness.Safety Testing:All the patients in the two groups were detected blood, liver function, renal function, ECG before and after the treatment, and the results showed no abnormal changes.Observation on adverse events:in this trial, no obvious damage was found before and after the treatment, indicating that the clinical application of acupuncture and moxibustion was safe.ConclusionThe effect of catgut implantation at acupoint and the warm needling moxibustion was equivalent in treating chronic lumbar muscle strain. Clinical application of acupuncture and moxibustion was safe and worthy of clinical generalization and application.