Comparison of Acupuncture and Medical Therapy on Clinical Symptoms and Electrodiagnostic Changes in Patients with Cervical Disk Herniation

Cervical disk herniation is one of the etiologies for chronic cervical pain which has a significant effect on the quality and efficiency of a patient’s life. Access to effective and safe therapeutic protocols are among the main research approaches. In this study the impact of acupuncture and physical activity was studied on the clinical and paraclinical symptoms of such patients. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial 60 patients were randomly divided into three groups: conventional medical treatment and acupuncture. The 1st group received 100mg Celebrex tablets twice daily for 1 month. In the 2nd group acupuncture was done 3 times a week, 30 min each up to 12 sessions in 1 month They were examined at study initiation and 3 months after study termination by electrodiagnostic evaluation and neuromuscular stimulation, and in initiating of study, immediately after the therapies and 3 months after termination of study by questionnaire. The painindex score questionnaire was used for the pain and disability evaluation. The data were analyzed by the ANOVA Test. Results: The two groups were similar in terms of age, sex and educational level. The mean level of pain (P=0.38), neck stiffness (P=0.70), murmur andtingling sensation (P=0.31), restricted neck movements (P=0.43), and limited daily physical activity (P=0.54) reduced significantly immediately after treatment in both the acupuncture and medical therapy groups; yet it indicated no significant difference exactly after finishingthe therapies. But, the 3-months follow up showed only a significant difference in the mean neck stiffness severity between the two groups (P<0.05). The findings suggest that the therapeutic response to acupuncture lasts longer and were greater after 3 months. The meanelectrodiagnostic indices, CAMP, DML, DSL, MNCV, SNCV and SNAP of the median and ulnar nerves also reduced significantly in the latter mentioned groups after the intervention, but the difference was not remarkable. Conclusion: Both the medical and acupuncture groupsimproved significantly regarding clinical symptoms; yet it seems that acupuncture was more effective than the conventional treatment alone in reducing the cervical disk herniation symptoms.