Acupuncture reduces hemorrhoid pain
120 cases of hemorrhoids with pain were randomly assigned to electroacupuncture or medication treatment for 5 days, 60 cases in each group. The electroacupuncture group were treated by electroacupuncture at Changqiang (GV 1) and Chengshan (BL 57) with sparse-dense wave, frequency 2/100 Hz; and the medication group with oral administration of Tramadol. Changes of pain were assessed by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores at the defecation each day.
In the electroacupuncture group, VAS score was reduced from 6.64±3.66 before treatment to 5.65±2.21 on day 2 of the treatment with a significant decrease, and further reduced to 1.85±1.24 on day 5. In the medication group, VAS score was reduced from 6.58±3.18 to 4.86±2.04 on day 3 to 2.24±1.46 on day 5. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the pain score on the fifth day of the treatment.
These data suggest that combination of Chengshan (BL 57) with Changqiang (GV 1) is effective for improvement of hemorrhoidal pain in defecation, and the effect is comparable to pain killer Tramadol.
Li N, et al. Observation on therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture at Chengshan (BL 57) and Changqiang (GV 1) on hemorrhoidal pain. Chinese Journal of Acupuncture and Moxibustion 2008;28:792-794.