Clinical Study of Modified Fangfeng Decoction and Nape Tri-Acupuncture Combined Therapy in the Treatment of Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy

OBJECTIVE To observe the efficacy and safety of Fangfeng decoction and nape tri-acupuncture-jia ji (EX-B2)， bai lao (EX-HN14) and ashi point combined therapy in treating cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR) with wind-cold obstruction syndrome. METHODS 140 patients were randomly divided into the control group and the treatment group with 70 cases in each. The control group was given mecobalamin + compound chondroitin sulfate， and the treatment group was given modified Fangfeng decoction + tri-acupuncture. The course of treatment were both 4 weeks. The Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ)， clinical assessment scale for cervical spondylosis (CASCS)， cervical range of motion (CROM) and TCM syndrome scores of CSR wind-cold obstruction syndrome were compared between the two groups both before and after treatment. The left bilateral vertebral artery velocity mean (LBVA-Vm)， vertebral artery velocity mean (VA-Vm)， right bilateral vertebral artery velocity mean (RBVA-Vm)， vertebral artery resistance index (VA-RI) and Vertebrobasilar artery velocity mean (VAD) were detected. The content of serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β)， tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)， neuropeptide Y (NPY) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) were measured. The effective rate and the incidence of adverse reactions in the two groups were observed. RESULTS 6 cases were abscission during the research. After treatment， the total effective rate of the treatment group was 94.2%， which was significantly higher than that of the control group (84.8%， P<0.05). The scores of NPQ and TCM syndrome in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05)， and the scores of CASCS and CROM were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The levels of BVA-Ym， VA-Vm， BVA-Vm and VAD in the treatment group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05)， and the levels of VA-RI were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The contents of interleukin-1β (IL-1β)， tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)， neuropeptide Y (NPY) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the treatment group was 2.9%， significantly lower than that in the control group (22.7%， P<0.05). CONCLUSION Modified Fangfeng decoction and tri-acupuncture combined therapy can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of CSRS patients with wind-cold obstruction syndrome， with a low incidence of adverse reactions， which is worthy of clinical application.