The analgesic effect of 3 kinds of therapies

electroacupuncture (EA)

EA combined with half dose of dolantin (EAHDD) and full dose of dolantin (FDD) on postoperative pain was observed and compared in 30 cases of protrusion of lumbar intervertebral disc after surgical operation. It was found that postoperative pain did not appear in 9 of the 10 cases and slight pain occurred in the rest one case on the same day after the operation in EA group. The excellent or good analgesic rate of EA group was higher than that of either EAHDD group or FDD group (P<0. 01)

and the excellent and good analgesic rate of the EAHDD group was higher than that of FDD group on the first day after the operation (P<0.05). Excellent analgesic effect was obtained in all the three groups on the 3rd day after the operation. Compared with the effect of dolantin

the analgesic effect of EA initiated later

but remained longer. In order to strengthen the strong point and offset the weakness

the combination of the two therapies with a reduced dose of anesthetics is advisable. Therefore

we advocate that EA should be applied earlier after operation to prevent pain occurrence. If pain still appears after EA

a half dose of dolantin may be used to achieve the best analgesic effect.