OBJECTIVETo compare the difference in the efficacy on thoracic facet joint disorder between the combined therapy of electroacupuncture and manual reduction and the simple manual reduction.

METHODSOne hundred and sixty patients were randomized into an electroacupuncture and manual manipulation group (group A) and a simple manual manipulation group (group B), 80 cases in each one. In the group A, Ashi points and three pairs of Jiaji (EX-B 2) bilateral to the painful sites were selected. The perpendicular puncture was used at Ashi points, the oblique puncture was used at Jiaji (EX-B 2) and connected with electric stimulation for 20 min, additionally, the corresponding manual reduction was adopted at the sites of facet joint disorder. In the group B, the simple manual reduction was applied to the affected sites. Acupuncture was given once every day, the manual reduction was applied once every 10 days. The treatment of 10 days made one session. The efficacy was analyzed statistically at the end of two sessions of treatment. Before and after treatment, McGill pain scale was adopted for the value statistical analysis. PRI score, VAS score and PPI score of patients were calculated before and after treatment and compared in the two groups. The efficacy was compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThe curative rate was 56.3% (45/80) in the group A, which was better than 18.8% (15/80) in the group B (P< 0.01). The total effective rate was 95.0% (76/80) in the group A, which was better than 76.3% (61/80) in the group B (P<0.01). The scores of PRI, VAS and PPI after treatment were all improved significantly in the two groups (all P<0.05), in which, the results in the group A were better than those in the group B (PRI: 4.00 +/- 0.97 vs 5.44 +/- 1.16, VAS: 3.29 +/- 0.72 vs 3.87 +/- 0.81, PPI: 1.07 +/- 0.74 vs 1.64 +/- 0.90, all P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe combined therapy of electroacupuncture and manual manipulation achieves the superior efficacy on thoracic facet joint disorder as compared with the simple manual manipulation. The combined therapy relieves the symptoms of thoracic facet joint disorder and reduces the severity of disorder.