Efficacy evaluation of electroacupuncture at Dong's points combined with biofeedback in the treatment of functional anorectal pain

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical effect of electroacupuncture combined with biofeedback on functional anorectal pain. MethodsSixty patients diagnosed functional anorectal pain were divided into three groups by random number table, namely electroacupuncture group, biofeedback group, and combination group, with 20 patients in each. In the electroacupuncture group, the electroacupuncture at Dong's points Sānqí (三其穴), including Qímén (其门), Qíjiǎo (其角), and Qízhèng (其正), and Línggǔ (灵骨), Dàbái (大白), Chángmén (肠门) of both sides was given; in the Biofeedback group, the biofeedback therapy was adopted; in the combination group, the electroacupuncture and biofeedback therapy were used. All patients were treated once a day, 30 min each time, 10 consecutive treatments as one treatment course, and the therapeutic effect was evaluated after 3 treatment courses. The observation indexes after the intervention: Visual analogue Scale (VAS) score, SF-36 Quality of Life Scale score, Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) score, Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) score, Anorectal manometry, Clinical efficacy, and patients’ adverse reactions. ResultsAfter treatment, the pain of patients in the three groups was alleviated than that before treatment, VAS score, SAS score, SDS score, and anorectal pressure were decreased (P<0.05), and SF-36 Quality of Life Scale score was increased (P<0.05). After treatment, in the combination group, the VAS scores, SAS scores, SDS scores, and Anal-rectal pressure scores were lower than those in the other two groups (P<0.05), and SF-36 Quality of Life Scale scores were higher than those in the other two groups (P<0.05), the total effective rate was 80.0% (16/20), which was significantly higher than that of the electroacupuncture group (55.0%, 11/20) and the biofeedback group (40.0%, 8/20) (both P<0.05) . No adverse reactions occurred in all three groups. ConclusionElectroacupuncture at Dong's points combined with biofeedback therapy has a significant effect on functional anorectal pain. The combined application of electroacupuncture and biofeedback therapy has a synergic action, and the analgesic effect is better than that of only using electroacupuncture or biofeedback therapy.