Clinical study on the efficacy of combined acupoint shock wave therapy assisted by infrared thermography in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation
PENG Li-na
TAO Qing-yun
ZHANG Qiao-li
Abstract：Objective To explore the efficacy of infrared thermography in assessing the therapeutic effect of acu-point shock wave therapy combined with meridian acupoint therapy for lumbar disc herniation.Methods Seventy-two patients diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation were prospectively enrolled from the Department of Tendon Injury,Taizhou Orthopedics Hospital,and randomly divided into a control group(treated with conventional acupoint shock wave therapy)and a treatment group(treated with combined meridian acupoint shock wave therapy),with 36 patients in each group.In-frared thermography temperature mean values were compared between the two groups before surgery,at 1 month postopera-tively,and at 3 months postoperatively.Visual analogue scale(VAS)scores,Japanese Orthopedic Association(JOA)scores,Oswestry disability index(ODI)scores,levels of C-reactive protein(CRP),tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6),and gait parameters(step length,walking speed,step frequency,percentage of stance phase)were also compared between the two groups.The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated at 3 months post-treat-ment.Results At 3 months postoperatively,the treatment group showed lower mean values of infrared thermography tem-perature,VAS scores,ODI scores,CRP levels,TNF-α levels,IL-6 levels,and percentage of stance phase compared to the control group(all P＜0.05),while JOA scores,step length,walking speed,and step frequency were higher(all P＜0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups(P＞0.05).The total effective rate was 97.22％in the treatment group and 77.78％in the control group,with statistical significance(P＜0.05).Conclusion Combined therapy of infrared thermography-assisted meridian acupoint shock wave therapy effectively improves clinical symptoms,alleviates pain and inflammation,and enhances lumbar spine struc-ture and function in patients with lumbar disc herniation.It has superior efficacy and minimal adverse reactions,sugges-ting its potential for clinical application.
Keywords：lumbar disc herniationinfrared thermal imagingmeridian acupointsshock wave therapycurative effect
Publication Date：2024-06-28
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 723-727 )