Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine, Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea.
Division of Clinical Medicine, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2023 Aug 4;102(31):e34067. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000034067.
Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a common condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Moving cupping has gained popularity as a complementary therapy for managing CLBP owing to its noninvasive and cost-effective nature. However, the lack of objective measures to assess its therapeutic effect has been a considerable challenge in evaluating the effectiveness of moving cupping for CLBP management.
We developed a randomized controlled trial (RCT) protocol for evaluating the effectiveness of a noninvasive treatment using moving cupping by assessing muscle relaxation with shear wave elastography (SWE). It involves the recruitment of 68 patients with CLBP and randomly assigns them to either the treatment or control group. The treatment group will receive moving cupping therapy for 2 weeks, while the control group will receive placebo treatment. It will utilize SWE to evaluate muscle relaxation at baseline, after 2 weeks of treatment, and 1 week after the end of treatment. Subjective reports of pain intensity and quality of life are also recorded at each time point.
The protocol developed here utilizes SWE to objectively measure muscle stiffness, and coupled with moving cupping therapy, may be effective in conveying relative comparisons before and after treatment. Moving cupping therapy is expected to promote muscle relaxation and pain relief in patients with CLBP. This study has the potential to contribute to the development of objective measures for evaluating the therapeutic effects of traditional therapies and to provide valuable insight into their efficacy.
慢性下腰痛（CLBP）是一种常见病症，影响着全球数以百万计的人。由于其非侵入性和具有成本效益的特点，移动拔罐作为一种补充疗法，在治疗 CLBP 方面越来越受欢迎。然而，缺乏客观的措施来评估其治疗效果，这在评估移动拔罐治疗 CLBP 的有效性方面是一个相当大的挑战。
我们制定了一项随机对照试验（RCT）方案，通过使用剪切波弹性成像（SWE）评估肌肉松弛来评估使用移动拔罐进行非侵入性治疗的效果。该试验共招募了 68 名 CLBP 患者，并将他们随机分配到治疗组或对照组。治疗组将接受 2 周的移动拔罐治疗，而对照组将接受安慰剂治疗。将使用 SWE 在基线、治疗 2 周后和治疗结束后 1 周评估肌肉松弛情况。还将在每个时间点记录疼痛强度和生活质量的主观报告。
本方案采用 SWE 客观测量肌肉僵硬，并结合移动拔罐疗法，可能在治疗前后的相对比较中有效。移动拔罐疗法有望促进 CLBP 患者的肌肉松弛和疼痛缓解。这项研究有可能为评估传统疗法的治疗效果的客观措施的发展做出贡献，并为其疗效提供有价值的见解。
