Clinical Observation on Trigeminal Neuralgia in Different Moxibustion Positions Treated by Thermal Moxibustion

OBJECTIVE To compare the therapeutic effects of Thermal Moxibustion in the treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia in different moxibustion positions. METHODS 62 cases of primary trigeminal neuralgia were randomly divided into a treatment group (32 cases) treated with mild and suspended moxibustion on thermal acupoint， and a control group (30 cases) treated with mild and suspended moxibustion on non-thermal acupoints. 30 days made up the course of treatment (40min each time， and two times per day in the first 5 days and 1 time per day in the following 25 days). The changes of therapeutic effects， visual analogue scale (VAS)， and Migraine specific quality of life questionnaire (MSQ) of the two groups were contrasted and evaluated after the treatment. RESULTS Compared with pre-treatment， the treatment group had a remarkable difference (P<0.05~0.01) in VAS， MSQ score. In contrast to the control group， there was statistically significant difference in VAS score in treatment group(P<0.05)， with more significant difference in MSQ score(functional limitations， dysfunction， emotion)(P<0.05~0.01). The total effective rate of the treatment group was 78.13%， better than 53.33% of the control group(P<0.05). CONCLUSION Suspended moxibustion on thermal acupoint， which is superior to suspended moxibustion on non-thermal acupoint in the treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia， can improve the therapeutic effects of moxibustion.