| ObjectiveThe goal of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of using Serin Pyonex press needle on the treatment of insomnia with a TCM(traditional Chinese medicine)diagnosis of disharmony between the heart and kidney,and explore an alternative treatment method that is not only more convenient and efficient,but also providing patients with less discomfort than the conventional acupuncture therapy.MethodsThe study was conducted in the TCM clinic in Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada from January 2016 to February of 2017.60 patients were chosen using the diagnostic criteria of insomnia according to the CCMD-3 and TCM Diagnosis&Efficacy Standard.They were randomly divided into two groups of 30 patients:the press needle experimental group and the Jiao-Tai-Wan herbal control group.The acupuncture points used in the press needle experimental group are:KI-2,SI-2,HT-7,and KI-3 on each limb.During each treatment,either KI-2 and SI-2,or HT-7 and KI-3 will be used.The press needles will be left on for 3 days,and 3 days later the 2 groups of acupuncture points will rotate.At home,the patients were asked to give a gentle press on the needles on their own from noon to 6 o'clock in the afternoon as part of the take home therapy,prolonging the treatment effect.Each treatment session comprised of 8 treatments spread across 4 weeks,with 2 treatments being conducted per week.On the other hand,in the Jiao-Tai-Wan herbal control group,patients were orally given 5 gram of herbal extract powder three times a day,5 days a week.The duration of herbal therapy is also 4 weeks long.For the efficacy evaluation,two groups were accessed using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index,PSQI,before,during,and at the end of treatment.Also,a follow up assessment using PSQI was conducted 1 month after the treatment session.ResultsAfter treatments,despite using press needle or herbal therapy,both groups show significant change in the PSQI score and thus,the sleeping quality of patients.This result indicates that both press needle and herbal therapy are effective toward the treatment of insomnia.Moreover,when we take a closer look at the overall efficacy during different time points throughout the experiment,we observed that after 2 weeks of treatment,the overall efficacy of the herbal group was 80.00%,which is significantly better than that of the 66.67%of the press needle group(P<0.05).Whereas at the end of 4 weeks treatments,the overall efficacy were 90.00%and 86.67%respectively;therefore,there was no significant difference between the two groups(P>0.05).However,during the follow up assessment one month later,the overall efficacy of the herbal therapy group dropped to 70.00%,while the press needle group was able to maintain its efficacy at 90.00%.As a result,the press needle therapy displays a significant difference using Chi Square Test(P<0.05),indicating it is the better choice in prolonging the therapeutic effect even when the treatment stops.ConclusionIn conclusion,insomnia being a common modern disease,could often impair patient' s day to day activities and thus,the quality of lives.Therefore,the goal of this study is to design an experiment that fully utilizes the advantage of the Serin Pyonex press needle,in hope to discover an alternative treatment option that is not only safe,comfortable,and efficient,but also more convenient and easy to tolerate than the conventional acupuncture therapy. |
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