Clinical study on heat-sensitive moxibustion combined with kneading and massage manipulation at pain points in treating patients with lumbar disc herniation and chronic low back pain / 国际中医中药杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of heat-sensitive moxibustion combined with kneading and massage manipulation at pain points in treating patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) and chronic low back pain (LBP).Methods:Randomized controlled trial. A total of 91 patients with LDH and LBP who were admitted to Lu'an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2020 to December 2022 were selected as the observation subjects. They were divided into the experimental group (46 cases) and the control group (45 cases) by random number table method. The control group was treated with conventional massage manipulation, while the experimental group was treated with heat-sensitive moxibustion combined with kneading and massage manipulation at pain points. Both groups received 4 weeks of continuous treatment. The degree of lumbar pain was evaluated with the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and the degree of lumbar dysfunction was evaluated with modified Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Plasma viscosity, hematocrit, whole blood low shear viscosity and whole blood high shear viscosity were measured using a blood rheometer. Clinical efficacy was evaluated.Results:The total clinical effective rates in the experimental group and the control group were 93.48% (43/46) and 77.78% (35/45), with a statistical significance between groups ( χ2=4.58, P=0.032). After treatment, the VAS score [(3.81±0.74) vs. (4.29±0.85), t=2.88] and ODI score [(8.79±2.65) vs. (11.25±3.74), t=3.63] of the experimental group were lower than those of the control group ( P<0.01). Plasma viscosity [(1.35±0.06) mPa?s vs. (1.41±0.08) mPa?s, t=4.05], hematocrit [(37.46±2.38)% vs. (40.15±2.94)%, t=4.80], whole blood low shear viscosity [(7.41±1.53) mPa?s vs. (8.64±1.72) mPa?s, t=3.61] and whole blood high shear viscosity [(3.81±0.29) mPa?s vs. (4.07±0.31) mPa?s, t=4.13] were lower than those in the control group ( P<0.01). Conclusion:Heat-sensitive moxibustion combined with kneading and massage manipulation at pain points can effectively relieve LBP in patients with LDH and chronic LBP, improve lumbar dysfunction and hemodynamic status, and enhance clinical efficacy.