Observations on the Efficacy of Electroacupuncture plus Point Injection in Treating Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Protrusion

Objective To investigate the efficacies of three therapies,electroacupuncture,point injection and electroacupuncture plus point injection,in treating lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion.Methods Ninety patients were selected and allocated by simple randomization to three groups,electroacupuncture plus point injection,electroacupuncture and point injection,30 cases each.The criteria of therapeutic effects and a quantitative criterion(JOA and VAS) were used.A comparison was made between pretreatment and posttreatment within one group and between different groups.Results There was a statistically significant difference in the score between pretreatment and posttreatment in all the three groups(P0.01).Scoring showed that the effect was significantly better in the electroacupuncture plus point injection group than in the electroacupuncture group or the point injection group(P0.05).The cure rate was significantly higher in the electroacupuncture plus point injection group than in the electroacupuncture group(P0.05).In the first course of treatment, the effect of electroacupuncture was superior to that of point injection(P0.05 by VAS analysis);in the second course of treatment,the effect of point injection was superior to that of electroacupuncture(P0.05 by VAS analysis).In the three groups,the cure rate was significantly lower in the patients with the duration of disease twelve months than in those ≤ twelve months(P0.05).The cure rate was significantly lower for liver-kidney depletion than for the other three types of syndromes.Conclusion Electroacupuncture plus point injection has clinically a good synergic effect in treating lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion,but the cure rate is lower in the patients with the duration of disease over twelve months and those with liver-kidney depletion.