Objective To observe the clinical effect of elongated needle by Hui-puncture method in the treatment of piriformis syndrome. Methods A total of 100 piriformis syndrome patients were randomly divided into routine acupuncture group(n=50) and elongated needle by Hui-puncture method(Hui-puncture) group(n=50). For patients of the routine acupuncture group

Huantiao(GB30)

Juliao(GB29)

Zhibian(BL54)

Weizhong(BL40)

Yanglingquan(GB34)

Juegu(GB39) and Ashi-point on the affected side of the body were punctured with filiform needles for 30 min. And for those of the Hui-puncture group

elongated needles were respectively inserted into GB30 and Ashi-point. The treatment was conducted once every other day for 10 times. The visual analog scale(VAS) pain score and the severity scores of symptoms(hip pain

lower limb pain

walking ability

straight leg elevation test

piriformis muscle tension test

piriformis muscle tenderness

0—15 points) were measured before and after the treatment. The therapeutic effect was assessed by Criteria for Diagnosis and Assessment of Therapeutic Effect of Syndromes or Illnesses of Traditional Chinese Medicine(1994). Results After the treatment

the scores of symptoms and VAS scores of both routine acupuncture and Hui-puncture groups were significantly decreased in comparison with their own pre-treatment(P<0.05)

and the scores of the two indexes of the Hui-puncture group were evidently lower than those of the routine acupuncture group(P<0.05). Of the two 50 cases in the routine acupuncture and Hui-puncture groups

39 and 47 were effective

with the effective rate being 78.00% and 94.00%

respectively. The comprehensive therapeutic effect of the Hui-puncture group was significantly superior to that of the routine acupuncture group(P<0.05). Conclusion Elongated-needle by Hui-puncture method has significant effect in treating piriformis syndrome patients and is worthy of promotion.