Tuina Is Superior to Electroacupuncture in Treating Thoracic Facet Joint Disorder

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of tuina in treating thoracic facet joint disorder,and compare it to the efficacy of electroacupuncture(EA).Methods:Eighty patients were randomized into a tuina group and an EA group,40 in each.The tuina group was intervened by tuina manipulations,and the EA group was by EA treatment.Visual analogue scale(VAS),symptoms and physical signs were evaluated before,and after 5 and 7treatment sessions respectively,and the clinical efficacies were compared between the two groups.Results:After treatment,the recovery and markedly effective rate was92.5%in the tuina group versus 47.5%in the EA group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.01).The total effective rate was 100.0%in the tuina group versus 85.0%in the EA group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).After 5 treatment sessions,the recovery and markedly effective rate was 91.9%in the tuina group versus 68.4%in the EA group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The VAS scores,and total symptoms and physical signs scores were significantly reduced in both groups after treatment(P<0.01),and the scores in the tuina group were significantly lower than those in the EA group(P<0.01).Conclusion:Compared to EA,tuina is more efficient and effective in treating thoracic facet joint disorder and has obvious analgesic effect.