To observe the curative effect of massage combined with acupuncture in the treatment of the third lumbar transverse process syndrome.

A total of 65 patients with third lumbar transverse process syndrome admitted to Mafang Community Health Service Center of Pinggu District of Beijing from January 2015 to April 2020 were selected and divided into a control group and an experimental group by the computer random method. The experimental group had 33 patients and the control group had 32 patients. The control group was treated with conventional acupuncture and moxibustion treatment, while the experimental group was treated with massage combined with acupuncture and moxibustion treatment, and the acupuncture and moxibustion treatment strategy was the same asthat ofthe control group. At two weeks of treatment, the visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to compare patients in two groups before and after treatment. The total effective rate and treatment compliance rate were compared between the two groups by χ² test.

(1) VAS scores: Before treatment, the VAS score of the control group was (7.40±0.20), and that of the experimental group was (7.30±0.80). The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (t=1.890, P > 0.05), which was comparable. After treatment, the VAS score in the control group was (5.10±0.20) points, and that in the experimental group was (3.70±0.20) points. The VAS score in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group (t=2.449, P<0.05). (2) Comparison of the treatment compliance: In the experimental group, there were 19 cases of full compliance, 13 cases of cooperative compliance, and 1 case of nonadherence, with acompliance rate of 96.97% (32/33). In the control group, there were 12 cases of full compliance, 13 cases of cooperative compliance and 7 cases of nonadherence, with a compliance rate of 78.13% (25/32). The compliance rate of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (χ² = 5.345, P < 0.05); (3) Comparison of the total effective rate of the patients: the experimental group showed significant effect in 20 cases, effective in 13 cases, ineffective in 0 cases, and the total effective rate was 100.00% (33/33); the control group showed significant effect in 15 cases, effective in 13 cases, ineffective in 4 cases, and the total effective rate was 87.50% (28/32). The total effective rate of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (χ²=4.395, P<0.05).

The curative effect, patient compliance and VAS scores of massage combined with acupuncture in the treatment of the third lumbar transverse process syndrome are better than those of conventional acupuncture and moxibustion, and which shows that both treatments have good pain relief degree for patients. Therefore, it is recommended to study and promote the treatment.