MULTI-CENTER RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF COMBINED TREATMENT OF VERTEBRAL ARTERY TYPE CERVICAL SPONDYLOSIS WITH ACUPUNCTURE AND MASSAGE

Objective:To evaluate the clinical value of synthetical therapy of acupuncture and massage for treating vertebral artery type cervical spondylosis (VACS). Methods: In the present study, triple-center, single-blind, randomized and control methods were adopted. Qualified subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: acupuncture-massage (acu-mas) group, acupuncture group, and massage group (60 subjects in each group). Bilateral Fengchi (风池GB 20), Jiaji (夹脊EX-B 2, C_ 4-7) and Baihui (百会GV 20) were punctured in combination with massage at the neck-shoulder and back region. The treatment was conducted once daily, 14 times altogether. Results: After treatment, of the 60 cases in each of acu-mas, acupuncture and massage groups, 28, 11 and 13 were cured, 13, 20 and 17 markedly effective, 12, 14 and 16 effective, and 7, 15 and 14 ineffective, with the total effective rates being 88.3%, 75.0% and 76.7% respectively. The therapeutic effect of acu-mas group was significantly superior to that of simple acupuncture and massage groups (P0.05). The scores of clinical symptoms and signs in 3 groups all declined significantly after treatment (P0.01), and the score of symptoms of acu-mas was markedly lower than those of acupuncture and massage groups (P0.05). No significant differences were found among 3 groups in the score of clinical signs and between acupuncture and massage groups in the score of clinical symptoms (P0.05). The time for producing therapeutic effects in acu-mas group was significantly shorter than those of acupuncture and massage groups (P0.01, 0.05), meaning a faster of acu-mas group in producing clinical effect. No adverse events were found in all the 3 groups. Conclusion: Acupuncture and massage are effective and safe in the treatment of VACS, and the therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with massage is superior to that of simple acupuncture and simple massage therapy.