[Clinically randomized controlled study on abdominal acupuncture for treatment of cervical spondylosis].
OBJECTIVE
To compare clinical therapeutic effects of abdominal acupuncture and traditional acupuncture on cervical spondylosis (CS).


METHODS
Sixty-two cases of neck or nerve-root type CS were randomly divided into an observation group (n=32) treated by abdominal acupuncture at Zhongwan (CV 12), Guanyuan (CV 4) and others, and a control group (n=30) treated by traditional acupuncture at Fengchi (GB 20) and cervical Jiaji (EX-B 2), etc.. Simplified McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and clinical therapeutic effects were served as the objective indexes. Their clinical therapeutic effects were compared after the first session of treatment, at the end of therapeutic course and 3 months after the end of treatment.


RESULTS
The two groups had a same effective rate of 100.0%. All items of MPQ in these two groups after treatment and 3 months after the end of treatment significantly improved, and in the observation group the differences in the PRI feeling score before and after the first treatment, and the difference of the total PRI scores after the first treatment, at the end of therapeutic course and 3 months after the end of treatment significantly improved as compared with the control group (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Abdominal acupuncture can better reduce the pain of the patient caused by CS, with transient pain-alleviating effect, but whether or not the clinical therapeutic effect of abdominal acupuncture is better than the traditional acupuncture still can not be proved.
Guo
Yuan-qi
YQ
The Second Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of TCM, Guangdong 510120, China. guoyuanqi@yahoo.com.cn
Chen
Li-yi
LY
Fu
Wen-bin
WB
Xu
Ming-zhu
MZ
Ou
Xuan-ming
XM
D000005:Abdomen; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D013128:Spinal Osteophytosis / Q000628:therapy*