Treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy: acupuncture at neck Jiáj points and blood-letting puncture with the plum-blossom needle

ObjectiveTo observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture at neck Jiáj (EX) points and blood-letting puncture with the plum-blossom needle on cervical spondylotic radiculopathy.MethodsSixty cases of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy were divided into a treatment group and a control group with 30 cases in each group. Acupuncture at neck Jiáj (EX) points (Extra) and blood-letting puncture with the plum-blossom needle were adopted for the treatment group. And acupuncture at neck Jiáj (EX) points was adopted for the control group. The therapeutic effect, visual analogue scale (VAS) and the numbness score were observed after 2 treatment courses.ResultsThe total effective rate of the treatment group was 86.7% (26/30), while the rate of the control group was 83.3% (25/30). Comparison of the differences of the two groups was without statistic significance (P>0.05). The VAS scores of the two groups after treatment were both improved (both P<0.01), but without statistic significance between the two groups (P>0.05). The numbness scores of the two groups after treatment were both better than those before treatment (P<0.01). The therapeutic effect on numbness of the extremities of the treatment group was better than that of the control group (P<0.05).ConclusionBlood-letting puncture with the plum flower needle has a satisfactory effect on treatment of numbness of the extremities of patient with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy.