Clinical Study Of Phlegm-Dampness Constitution Obesity Treated With Acupoint Catgut Embedding Therapy

ObjectivesTo understand the effect and treatment mechanism of the Acupoint Catgut-Embedding therapy applied into phlegm-dampness constitution obesity.MethodsThe study includes sixty cases of the patients from Huang Chi Clinic in Taiwan. The cases was divided into two group, the group of participants who were cured by the treatment of Acupoint Catgut-Embedding and the group of participants who were cured with oral medicine according to the diagnostic standard of phlegm damp constitution in TCM Corporeity Theory of Wang Qi. The diagnostic criteria for obesity with reference to the obesity research conference to the revised "diagnosis and treatment of simple obesity assessment criteria". The experiment of each group was conducted in a randomized controlled trail. The first group of patients received the Acupoint Catgut-Embedding Treatment every seven days. The patients were acupunctured at Zu San Li, Feng Long and Tian Shu points. While the first group of were receiving the Acupoint Catgut-Embedding Treatment, the second group of patients were taking oral medicine:Fang-Ji-Huang-Chi-Tang and Er Chen Tang, asked patients the medication twice a day of morning and evening. The study had been carried out within sixty days. The patients'body weight, body circumference, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (F%) and other indicators of obesity-related were examined periodically to analyze the effect of the Acupoint Catgut-Embedding Treatment by a scientific method within quantitative observation. The data analysis was processed through SPSS 12.0 the statistical software. The result of all data analysis was represented as'x±s'. The data of the measurement before and after the treatment applied to the patients was examined by t test. The measurement data were examined byχ2 test. ResultThe examinations byχ2 test and t test show that there was no significant difference in the gender and age of both groups of patients; therefore, this shows the comparability of the two groups. The efficiency ratio of the first group is 79.66%, and the one of second group is 23.33%. This shows the efficiency of the Acupoint Catgut-Embedding Treatment was highly increased, and the difference is P<0.05.According to the study, the first group lost more body fat than the second one, and the difference between both groups is P<0.05. Moreover, the first group lost more weight than the second as well, and the difference between two groups is P<0.05. The BMI of the first group dropped more than the ones of the second; the difference is P<0.05. The Body Fat Percentages (F%) of both groups had decreased distinctly (P<0.05). However, there was a big difference, (P<0.05), between two groups. The patients of two groups both reduced their sizes of waist and hip (P<0.05). Compared to the group of patients who were treated with oral medicine, the group of patients receiving Acupoint Catgut-Embedding Treatment had a significant reduction, (P<0.05), in their waist and hip sizes.ConclusionBoth Acupoint Catgut-Embedding Treatment and Oral Medicine work well for curing the phlegm obesity. However, the Acupoint Catgut-Embedding Treatment has better effect on assistance with the patients losing their weight and fats especially that the treatment allows the patients to narrow their waist and hip sizes. Therefore, this study concludes that overall effect of the Acupoint Catgut-Embedding Treatment on phlegm obesity patients is better than oral medicine.