Pestle needling at Yāoyángguān-Bāzhèn points for intractable lumbodynia after lumbar disc herniation surgery: A randomized controlled trial

Objective:To observe the differences of clinical efficacy of intractable lumbodynia after lumbar disc herniation surgery treated by pestle needling at Yāoyángguān Bāzhèn points,electroacupuncture and western medication.Methods:A total of 210 patients with intractable lumbodynia after lumbar disc herniation were randomly divided into pestle needle group,electroacupuncture group and western medication group,with 70 cases in each group.The pestle needle group was treated with pestle needle poking Yāoyángguān-Bāzhèn(GV3-Bāzhèn)points.The electroacupuncture group was treated with conventional electroacupuncture,and the western medication group was treated with oral diclofenac sodium dual release enteric-coated capsules(Difene).The pestle needle group and the electroacupuncture group were treated once a day,and there was 1 day of rest after 6 days of treatment,and a course of treatment included 7 days,and a total of 3 courses of treatment were performed.The western medication group took 1 Difene capsule(75 mg)at a time,with once a day continuing for 21 days.Visual Analog Scale(VAS),Pain Rating Index(PRI)and Present Pain Intensity(PPI)were used to observe the improvement of pain before and after treatment,and the waist muscle tone was examined and the clinical efficacy was observed.Results:The post-treatment VAS,PRI,and PPI scores of the three groups were all lower than pretreatment,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in VAS,PRI and PPI scores between pestle needle group and western medication group(all P>0.05).Meanwhile,they were all lower than the electroacupuncture group,and the differences were statistically significant(both P<0.05).After treatment,the waist muscle tone of the three groups was higher than that pre-treatment,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).After treatment,the waist muscle tone of the pestle needle group was higher than the electroacupuncture group,and the electroacupuncture group was higher than the western medication group,and the differences were statistically significant(both P<0.05).The total effective rate was 88.57%in the pestle needle group,80%in the electroacupuncture group,and 77.14%in the western medication group,and there were no statistically significant differences among the groups(P>0.05).Conclusions:Pestle needle poking GV3-Bāzhèn points can effectively relieve intractable lumbodynia after lumbar disc herniation surgery,decrease VAS,PRI,PPI scores and relieve waist muscle tone,and the effect was remarkable.