Application of nape acupuncture in treatment of vertebral-artery type cervical spondylosis

Objective  To observe the effect of nape acupuncture on vertebral-artery type cervical spondylosis. Methods  Eighty patients with vertebral-artery type cervical spondylosis were randomly divided into nape acupuncture group and Jiaji acupuncture group, with 40 cases in each group. The patients in the nape acupuncture group were treated with the nape acupuncture plus Jiaji acupuncture, while the patients in the Jiaji group were treated with Jiaji acupuncture only, to observe the functional scale before and after treatment. Results  The total effective rate in the nape acupuncture group was 95.0%, while the total effective rate in the Jiaji acupuncture group was 82.5%. By Ridit analysis, u=5.186, P<0.01. It indicated that the therapeutic effect in the nape acupuncture group was better than that in the Jiaji acupuncture group. Compared with Jiaji acupuncture group, the difference value of pre- and post-treatment about functional scale of vertebral-artery type cervical spondylosis and the post-treatment score have statistic differences (P<0.01). It indicated that the therapeutic effect of nape acupuncture group was more obvious in treating vertigo than that in the Jiaji acupuncture group. Conclusion  The treatment of vertebral-artery type cervical spondylosis by Jiaji acupuncture plus the nape acupuncture may enhance the therapeutic effect significantly. Author: QI Li-zhen (1960–), female, associate research fellow