Comparison of Needle-Warming Moxibustion and Other Physical Therapies for Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Meta-analysis. (28th July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Juan; Liang, Chongnan; Zeng, Fanguang; Fan, Liang; Zhuang, Jingqing
• Other Names: Lou Xi Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: Computational and mathematical methods in medicine. Volume 2022(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-07-28
• Subjects: Medicine -- Computer simulation -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Mathematical models -- Periodicals; 610.11
• DOI: 10.1155/2022/2986223
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1748-670X

Abstract

Abstract : Background . Needle-warming moxibustion (NWM) demonstrates a controversial effect on lumbar disc herniation (LDH). This study is aimed at comparing the efficacy of NWM and conventional acupuncture or other physical therapies on LDH through a meta-analysis. Methods. Potentially eligible literatures were retrieved and screened from electronic databases. The subject of the literature was a comparison of NWM and conventional acupuncture or other physical therapies for LDH. The methodological quality was evaluated by the Jadad scale. The chi-square test was used for the heterogeneity test. Subgroup analysis was used to explore the source of heterogeneity. Risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to describe the effect size. The publication bias was evaluated by Egger's test. Results . The effective rate of NWM in the treatment of LDH was significantly higher than that of conventional acupuncture (RR = 1.27, 95 % CI 1.18, 1.36, P < 0.00001 ) and lumbar traction (RR = 1.12, 95 % CI 1.06, 1.18, P < 0.0001 ) There was no significant difference in the effective rate between NWM and electric acupuncture for LDH (RR = 1.06, 95 % CI 0.98, 1.14, P = 0.17 ). VAS of LDH patients treated with NWM was lower than conventional acupuncture (MD = − 1.51, 95 % CI − 1.70, − 1.31, P < 0.00001 ) and lumbar traction (MD = − 2.64, 95 % CI − 2.79, − 2.49, P < 0.00001 ) but statistically insignificant with electric acupuncture (MD = − 0.31, 95 % CI − 0.72, 0.09, P = 0.13 ). JOA scores of LDH patients treated with NWM were higher than those with conventional acupuncture (MD = 2.24, 95 % CI 1.04, 3.45, P = 0.0003 ) and lumbar traction (MD = 10.76, 95 % CI 10.45, 11.07, P < 0.00001 ) but statistically insignificant with electric acupuncture (MD = 0.25, 95 % CI − 0.95, 1.45, P = 0.69 ). The long-term effective rate of NWM on LDH was higher than that of conventional acupuncture (MD = 3.13, 95 % CI 2.12, 4.61, P < 0.00001 ). In this study, no heterogeneity (P > 0.10, I 2 < 50 % ) and publication bias (P > 0.05 ) among the literature were noted. Conclusion . The effect of NWM on LDH was superior to traction therapy and conventional acupuncture therapy, but similar to electric acupuncture for LDH. High-quality randomized controlled trials were still needed to confirm the results.