OBSERVATION ON THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF NEEDLING IN COMBINATION WITH HERBAL MEDICINES FOR THE TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Objective: To discover the effective therapy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: A total of 62 patients were randomly divided into treatment group (30 cases) and control group (32 cases). The treatment group were punctured with filiform needle Dazhui (大椎 GV 14), Zhiyang (至阳 GV 9), Mingmen (命门 GV 4), Shenting (神庭 GV 24), Hegu (合谷 LI 4) and Zusanli (足三里 ST 36) were used as main points in combination with oral taking herbal medicines, and the control group only took herbal medicines, and the clinical effects of two groups were observed. Result: At the end of the first course of treatment, the total effective rate between treatment group (93.3%) and control group (87.5%) was obvious significant ( P<0.05 ). At the end of the second course of treatment, the total effective rate between treatment group(96.73%) and control group (90.6%) was obvious significant (P≤0.01). Conclusion: The effect of needling in combination with herbal medicine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is definite, and it is better than using herbal medicines only. Besides, the longer the course is, the more remarkable the effect is.