Bmc Complem Altern M
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Bmc Complem Altern M · Apr 2018
Randomized Controlled TrialSinew acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis: study protocol for a randomized sham-controlled trial.
Sinew acupuncture is a new modality of acupuncture in which needles are inserted into acupoints, ashi points or spasm points of sinew and muscles along the meridian sinew pathway. A previous observational study revealed that sinew acupuncture has immediate analgesic effects on various soft tissue injuries, including knee injuries. However, no rigorous trials have been conducted. This study aims to examine whether sinew acupuncture can safely relieve pain and symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and improve patients' functional movement and quality of life. ⋯ Sinew acupuncture is a potential alternative non-pharmacological therapy for KOA. This rigorous trial will expand our knowledge of whether sinew acupuncture reduces pain intensity and improves symptoms, functional movements, and quality of life of KOA patients.
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Bmc Complem Altern M · Apr 2018
Review Meta AnalysisComparative efficacy of Chinese herbal injections for treating acute cerebral infarction: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Chinese herbal injections (CHIs) are prepared by extracting and purifying effective substances from herbs (or decoction pieces) using modern scientific techniques and methods. CHIs combined with aspirin + anticoagulants + dehydrant + neuroprotectant (AADN) are believed to be effective for the treatment of acute cerebral infarction (ACI). However, no randomized controlled trial (RCT) has been performed to directly compare the efficacies of different regimens of CHIs. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare the efficacies of different regimens of CHIs for ACI. ⋯ Based on the NMA, SXN, YXDM, DH, SXT, HHHSS, DZXX and SX plus AADN showed the highest probability of being the best treatment regimens. Due to the limitations of the present study, our findings should be verified by well-designed RCTs.
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Bmc Complem Altern M · Apr 2018
Randomized Controlled TrialPulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial.
We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of two different forms of dry pulsatile cupping in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP) compared to medication on demand only in a three-armed randomized trial. ⋯ Both forms of cupping were effective in cLBP without showing significant differences in direct comparison after four weeks, only pulsatile cupping showed effects compared to control after 12 weeks.