Therapeutic effects of electro-acupuncture and diclofenic on herniation of lumbar intervertebral disc

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture studies frequently claim high success rates of pain relief in sciatica and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drngs(NSAIDs)such as diclofenac, are commonly used in treatment of sciatica. However,the therapeutic effects of acupuncture and diclofenac on sciatica remain to be compared.OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of electro-acupuncture and that of diclofenac treatment on the sciatica caused by herniation of intervertebral disc.DESIGN: A randomized controlled basic research was conducted.SETTING and PARTICIPANTS: Forty patients of Pakistani nationality with intervertebral disc herniation were selected from China Acupuncture Center, Islamabad, Pakistan, during the period from February of 2001 to October oi 2002. METHODS: The 40 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups:acupuncture group with 23 cases, treated with electro-acupuncture 25 minutes daily for 7 days, and medication group with 17 case, treated with 50 mg diclofenac post cibum tid for 7 days, numbness of the buttock, posterior side of the thigh, and the leg. RESULTS: After the treatment, the angle of Las6que' s sign of the acupuncture group was significantly bigger than that of the medication group (P ＜ 0.05, t = 2. 179); The mean VSA score of buttock tenderness relief was significantly lower in the acupuncture group than in the medication group ( P ＜ 0.05, t = 2. 224) . However, the mean scores of tenderness relief in the posterior side of the thigh and of the leg were not significantly different between the two groups(t=1.912 and t=1.580, both P＞ 0.05) .The was significantly higher in the acupuncture group than in the medication group (x2 =4. 817, P ＜ 0.05). Similarly, the number of the patients with the buttock tenderness relief by more than 20 scores in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the medication group (x2 = 5. 028, P ＜0.05 ). But there were not significant differences between the two groups in tenderness relief in the posterior side of the thigh and in the leg by more than 20 scores (X2 =0. 583 and x2 = 1. 081, P ＞ 0.05). There was no significant difference in alleviation of numbness at the feet between the two groups (x2 =0. 680, P＞ 0.05).