[Acupuncture and laser treatment in cervical and lumbar syndrome]

Eight random groups, each of 15 patients with tendomyotic cervical and lumbar syndrome, underwent acupuncture, one group receiving needle acupuncture at the "correct" sites according to Chinese medicine and another receiving placebo needles at the same sites. In a third group, acupuncture needles were applied at sites which were wholly inconsistent with Chinese practice. The remaining 5 groups took part in a single blind trial involving various types of radiation at the correct acupuncture sites, using an apparatus emitting either laser rays, red light, mixed light, infrared or no radiation at all, without interference from the therapist. All the groups showed improvement, but an analysis according to Kruskal and Wallis revealed no significant differences between type and site of treatment.