Study on the Curative Effect of Thermal Moxibustion Treating Lumbar Disc Herniation

OBJECTIVE To compare the differences of curative effect among thermal moxibustion， traditional moxibustion and conventional Western medicine with acupuncture in the treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation. METHODS 180 cases were randomly divided into 3 groups. A group: Applying thermal moxibustion therapy to the inside region of Dachangshu-Yaoshu (Du 2)-Dachangshu on the contralateral for treatment. B group: Using traditional moxibustion therapy to cure by selecting the acupuncture points in the above regions. C group: Employing the method of the conventional Western medicine with acupuncture. All groups were treated for two weeks， in total of 18 times. Observing the therapeutic effect by using the modified lumbago rating scale from the Japanese Orthopaedic Association in both periods: before treatment， the end of treatment and last for another six months. RESULTS After treatment， there is a significant difference between the 3 groups. In the aspects of improving lumbago and dysfunction， the group of thermal moxibustion are obviously better than the group using traditional moxibustion and control group applied the method of conventional Western medicine with acupuncture (P<0.05). After 6 months' observation， the advantages of curative effect was still obviously in group with thermal moxibustion. CONCLUSION The curative effect of thermal moxibustion is significant compared with traditional moxibustion (P<0.05) and conventional Western medicine with acupuncture (P<0.05).