Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China,
Complement Med Res. 2021;28(2):169-174. doi: 10.1159/000509336. Epub 2020 Oct 2.
Although acupuncture is effective in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH), based on comprehensive literature review, reports of the resorption of large herniated discs in LDH patients treated merely by acupuncture are very rare.
A 49-year-old patient presented with distending pain in the left lower limb and numbness on the dorsum of the left foot. Physical examination revealed positive signs associated with mechanical compression by herniated lumbar discs. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at symptom onset confirmed the diagnosis of LDH at L4-L5 and L5-S1. Electroacupuncture was administered on local acupoints combined with distal acupoints. His clinical symptoms gradually improved with time throughout acupuncture treatment, verified by increased Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores. The patient was discharged after a total of 20 acupuncture sessions within 1 month. Follow-up indicated that his symptoms had disappeared completely at 1.5 months after discharge and had not recurred since then. At the 10-month follow-up, MRI re-examination confirmed that the herniated discs had been resorbed significantly.
Electroacupuncture could significantly improve clinical symptoms and might promote the spontaneous resorption of herniated discs in LDH patients. Thus, for LDH patients suitable for conservative treatment, electroacupuncture could be a favourable option recommended to patients.
虽然针灸在腰椎间盘突出症（LDH）的治疗中有效，但基于综合文献回顾，仅通过针灸治疗即可使 LDH 患者的大突出椎间盘吸收的报告非常罕见。
一名 49 岁男性患者表现为左下肢膨胀性疼痛和左足背麻木。体格检查显示与椎间盘突出机械压迫相关的阳性体征。症状发作时的磁共振成像（MRI）证实 L4-L5 和 L5-S1 存在 LDH。给予局部穴位和远端穴位的电针治疗。随着针灸治疗的进行，他的临床症状逐渐改善，日本矫形协会评分增加得到了验证。患者在 1 个月内总共接受了 20 次针灸治疗后出院。随访显示，出院后 1.5 个月他的症状完全消失，此后未再复发。在 10 个月的随访时，MRI 复查证实椎间盘明显吸收。
电针治疗可以显著改善临床症状，并可能促进 LDH 患者椎间盘的自发性吸收。因此，对于适合保守治疗的 LDH 患者，电针可能是一种推荐给患者的有利选择。
