[Observation on analgesic effect of acupuncture combined with manipulation on cervicogenic headache]

To compare therapeutic effects between nape acupuncture combined with manipulation and simple manipulation in treating cervicogenic headache, and to verify the synergistic effect of manipulation and nape acupuncture.

Total 60 patients with cervicogenic headache were divided into two groups:nape acupuncture combined with manipulation group (group A) and manipulation group(group B). There were 30 patients in group A, including 12 males and 18 females with an average age of (41.37±12.09) years old, and an average course of disease of (23.73±15.54) months;there were 30 patients in the manipulation group (group B), including 14 males and 16 females with an average age of (42.40±12.05) years old, and an average course of disease of (25.53±14.33) months. In the group A, acupuncture therapy was performed firstly at the bilateral Fengchi (GB20), Wangu (GB12) and Ashi points 2 inches from the left and right sides under C₂ and C₄ spinous processes, and after retaining the needle for 30 minutes, the manipulation therapy was performed at the above points for 20 minutes. In the group B, manipulation therapy was performed alone. The patients in both groups were treated once a day, every 5 days of treatment interval 2 days, 10 times as a course of treatment, a total of 2 courses of treatment. The average onset time of analgesia and the average maintenance time of analgesia after the first treatment were observed, and the McGill Pain Questionnaire was used to compare the average pain scores between the two groups after the first treatment and two courses of treatment.

There was no significant difference in the onset time of analgesia between the two groups[(5.97±3.21) min vs(7.30±3.97) min, P>0.05]. The duration of analgesia in the group A was longer than that in the group B[(12.13±6.34) h vs (8.17±4.36) h, P<0.05]. There was no significant difference in pain rating index (PRI), visual analogue scale (VAS) and present pain intensity (PPI) scores between the two groups after the first treatment (all P>0.05);after the two courses, the scores of three items in the group A were lower than those in the group B(all P<0.05).

Nape needling can prolong the analgesic time of manipulation and improve the analgesic effect of manipulation.