Effect of Tai Chi exercise in combination with auricular plaster on patients with lumbar muscle strain.

OBJECTIVE observe the effect of Tai Chi exercise on the patients with the chronic lumbar muscle strain under the intervention treatment of auricular plaster. METHODS 74 middle-aged and elderly patients, suffering from the chronic lumbar muscle strain, are randomly and equally divided into an observation group and a control group, with 37 patients in each group. The patients in the control group do Tai Chi exercise, while those in the observation group are treated by the auricular plaster therapy in addition to Tai Chi exercise. Evaluate and compare the disease conditions of the patients in the two groups before the treatment and after 12 weeks' treatment. RESULTS after 12 weeks' treatment, the patients in the two groups have been improved differently in comparison with those before the treatment (P < 0.05). However, the cure rate, the excellence rate and total effective rate of the observation group are superior to those of the control group, respectively P < 0.05 or P < 0.01, thus their difference shows statistic significance. CONCLUSION after 12 weeks' Tai Chi exercise, it exercises an obvious curative effect on the patients with lumbar muscle strain but the curative effect is more remarkable if it is combined with auricular plaster therapy.