Efficacy of electric fire needle acupuncture(EFNA)with body pain expelling stasis decoction in treating lumbar disc herniation

SU Ying; WU Mei; FAN Hongbing

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2097-1753.2025.03.007

Abstract：Objective To study the curative effect of electric fire needle acupuncture combined with Shentong Zhuyu decoction against lumbar disc herniation(LDH).Methods A total of 48 LDH patients treated at Dalian Rehabilitation and Convalescence Center between July 2023 and December 2023 were selected as the subjects and randomly divided into two groups.The observation group(n=24)was treated with electric fire needles combined with Shentong Zhuyu decoction while the control group(n=24)was given Shentong Zhuyu decoction alone.The time the symptoms disappeared,scores of quality of life(6 Item Short Form Survey Instrument,SF-36),scores of the visual analogue scale(VAS),and scores of lumbar spine function(Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores,JOA)were compared between the two groups.Results After 5 weeks of treatment,the pain and discomfort in the waist and leg disappeared more quickly in the observation group than in the control group(t=7.530,7.988,11.735,12.890,all P＜0.001).The scores of SF-36 were higher in the observation group than in the control group(t=12.493,12.357,12.531,12.034,all P＜0.001).After l week,3 weeks and 5 weeks of treatment,the scores of VAS were lower in the observation group than in the control group(P=0.001,＜0.001,=0.001)while the JOA scores were higher(P=0.015,＜0.001,＜0.001).Conclusion Electric fire needles combined with Shentong Zhuyu Decoction have obvious advantages over Shentong Zhuyu decoction alone in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation,which can significantly improve the quality of life of LDH patients,effectively restore the lumbar function,and reduce such symptoms as lumbar pain.