[Research on community promotion and application of single acupoint electroacupuncture therapy for lumbar...

To observe the clinical effect of single acupoint [Yaotu (extra)] electroacupuncture (EA) therapy on lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LIDH) and its promotion and application in community medical institutions.

This research adopted a three-level promotion model, and used multi-center collaboration topics as a platform. A total of 240 patients with LIDH were divided into a group A (top three hospital, 80 cases, 3 cases dropped off), a group B (secondary hospital, 80 cases, 8 cases dropped off), and a group C (community health center, 80 cases, 7 cases dropped off). All groups were treated with EA at a single acupoint [Yaotu (extra)] under the guidance of a unified experimental protocol. The EA was given 60 min each time and performed 3 times a week for a total of 2 weeks. The changes of visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of three groups before and after each treatment were compared, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated.

Compared with before each treatment, the VAS scores of three groups after each treatment decreased (P<0.05). Except for the second and fifth treatments, the immediate effect in the group A was higher than that in the group B and C (P<0.05). The total effective rate of group A, group B, and group C respectively was 90.9% (70/77), 93.1% (67/72), 86.3% (63/73), and there was no statistically significant difference among the three groups (P>0.05).

The single acupoint EA therapy has a significant effect in the treatment of LIDH, can quickly relieve the pain symptoms, and has the characteristics of simple operation and easy control, suitable for promotion and application in primary hospitals.