| Background of the studyAs elderly population increase, osteoporosis, one of the common degenerative diseases seen in the elderly, and osteoporotic fracture, the most serious complication of osteoporosis, have become a serious social problem and drawn extensive attention from all society. Not only increasing the suffering of patients with severe restrictions in physical activities, osteoporotic fracture even shortens life-span. With back pain as its main clinical symptom, the compression fracture of vertebrae is one of the most common osteoporotic fracture. ObjectiveBy comparing the analgesic effects of two therapies, only-acupuncture therapy and acupuncture combined with catgut embedding therapy, to osteoporotic compression fracture of vertebrae, we desired to explore the possibility of improving clinical therapeutic effects of acupuncture by a synergistic way.MethodsIn the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Traditional Medicine (Orthopedics Hospital),60 inpatients aged over 60 with osteoporotic compression fracture of vertebrae were enrolled as the research objects.The method of using randomly, the patients were grouped randomly into two groups:Group A, in which the patents were treated with only acupuncture therapy; and Group B, in which the patents were treated with acupuncture combined with catgut embedding therapy. Each group had 30 patents.The following acuppoints were chosen as treating points in the two g roups:Shenshu-points(double), Spleenshu-points(double), Dachangshu-poin ts (double), Jiaji-points(double), Weizhong-points(double), Zusanli-points (double), Taichong-points(double), Yaotongdian-points (double), Guanyuan-points, Qihai-points, and Ache-points. Therapy of Group A:acupunctured these points and kept the needles under muscle tissue for 25 minutes. Eve ry five minutes, and therapists practised some skills (twineding, stitche ing, supplying and weakening). The thrapy was performed on one patient ev ery other day, three times as a treatment-course. In Group B, catgut embe dding therapy was performed on Shenshu-points(double), spleenshu-points(d ouble), dachangshu-points(double), and Jiaji-points(double), the acupunct ure treatments on the remaining acuppoints were the same as in Group A. B efore and after the treatments, we were measured the following indicators of pain:1. Spontaneous pain,2. Turning pain,3. Flexor pain,4. walkin g pain,5. the pain caused by pressing Vertebra, and 6.the time of turning over in bed.The indicators of pain were synthesized into a "pain score" for evaluating the therapeutic effectsResults1. "The time of turning over in bed" in the two groups shortened obviously after the treatments. By the comparing those before and after the treatments in each group, the differences were of statistical significance (P<0.01) in both groups, demonstrating the mitigation of pain and improvement of activity after the treatments in both groups.2. By the comparing the changes of "the time of turning over in bed" aft er the treatments between two groups, the differences between two groups was not statistically significant. (P>0.05)3. The five indicators of pain after the treatments in each group were improved as comparing with those before the treatments with statistical significance (P< 0.01), meaning the efficaciousness of the treatments in both groups.4. Comparing the effective rates of both groups showed no statistically significant difference (P> 0.05), indicating the similarity of therapeutic effects between two groups ConclusionBoth only-acupuncture therapy and acupuncture combined with catgut em bedding therapy probably can obviously alleviate the pain of osteoporoti c compression fracture of vertebrae; but, by comparison, the short-term therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with catgut embedding therapy is not superior to that of only-acupuncture therapy...
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