Acupuncture for chronic Achilles tendnopathy: a randomized controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether acupuncture treatment would improve outcome in chronic Achilles tendinopathy. METHODS: A randomized, controlled trial at two centers of 64 randomized patients aged 18 to 70 years with chronic Achilles tendinopathy was conducted from July 2007 to April 2010, with follow-up until October, 2010. These patients were randomly allocated into an acupuncture treatment group (acupuncture group) and an eccentric exercises group (control group). The validated Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) questionnaire was completed at baseline and 8, 16, and 24 weeks. The pain at rest and after activity was accessed at baseline and 8 weeks with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). RESULTS: After randomization into the acupuncture group or control group, one patient was loss of follow-up. The mean VISA-A score improved signifificantly after 8 weeks in the acupuncture group to 67.1 points [95% confifidence interval (CI), 64.1-70.2] and in the control group to 48.5 points (95% CI, 45.5-51.6) with an additional 18.6 points increase in acupuncture treatment patients (P=0.0000). Acupuncture treatment resulted in a significant increase from baseline in VISA-A of 25.8 after 16 weeks and 28.4 after 24 weeks. Whereas, in the control group the increase from baseline in VISA-A were 10.0 and 16.6 after 16 and 24 weeks, respectively (P=0.0000). The VAS diminished by 2.0 cm after activity, and by 1.5 cm at rest after 8 weeks in the control group. In the acupuncture group, the pain scores diminished significantly more than in the control group, with pain reduction of 3.7 cm after activity (P=0.0000) and 3.2 cm at rest (P =0.0000). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture intervention could improve pain and activity in patients with chronic Achilles tendinopathy compared with eccentric exercises.

[Analysis on literature of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of intractable eye diseases].

Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment has good therapeutic effects on the intractable eye diseases including pigmentary degeneration of retina, macular degeneration, glaucoma and optic atrophy, etc. This paper reviews acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of these diseases from selection of acupoints, treatment methods, effectiveness and mechanism studies, and raises the problems in existence and the prospect.