[Clinical study on the effectiveness of bone acupuncture for alleviating pain and improving function in patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis].

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of bone acupuncture in improving pain and function in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS) and compare it with acupuncture.

Methods: From January to December 2023, 80 DLSS patients were treated with acupuncture and divided into bone acupuncture and acupuncture groups. Among them, 40 patients in the bone acupuncture group included 15 males and 25 females, with a mean age of (60.60±6.98) years old;anthor 40 patients in the acupuncture group included 16 males and 24 females, with a mean age of (61.48±9.55) years old. The Roland Morris disability questionnaire(RMDQ), walking distance, visual analogue scale(VAS), and the MOS item short from health survey(SF-36) of two groups at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks post-treatment were compared.

Results: Eighty patients were followed up for 3 to 5 months with an average of (3.62±0.59) months. There was no significant differences in general data and the scores before treatment between two groups(>0.05). The RMDQ scores in both groups decreased significantly at 2, 4 and 12 weeks after treatment compared with before treatment(<0.05), at each time point after treatment, the decrease was more significant in the bone acupuncture group than in the acupuncture group(<0.05). The VAS of waist and leg in both groups was significantly lower at 2, 4 and 12 weeks after treatment that before treatment(<0.05). At all time points after treatment, the waist VAS in the bone acupuncture group was reduced more significant than in the Jiaji acupuncture group(<0.05);there was no significant difference in leg VAS at 2 and 12 weeks after treatment between two groups(>0.05), the improvement was more significant in the bone acupuncture group in the 4 weeks after treatment than in the Jiaji acupuncture group. The SF-36 scores in both groups were significantly higher at 2, 4, and 12 weeks after treatment than before treatment(<0.05);the SF-36 score raised more significant in the bone acupuncture group than in the acupunture group(<0.05). No significant difference in the walking distance between two groups at 2 weeks after treatment(>0.05);the walking distance in the bone acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the acupuncture group at 4 and 12 weeks after treatment(<0.05).

Conclusion: Bone-penetrating acupuncture moderately improves functional impairment, pain, and quality of life in patients with DLSS, showing better efficacy than Jiaji acupuncture.