Objective To observe the efficacy of acupuncture stimulation of the sciatic nerve trunk in the treatment of patients suffering from sciatica induced by lumbar disc herniation(LDH).Methods A total of 60 LDH sciatica patients met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into treatment group and control group

with 30 cases in each.Patients of the treatment group were treated by directly needling the sciatic nerve and routine acupuncture of Ashi-points

Lumbar Jiaji(EX-B 2)

Dachangshu(BL 28)

etc.

and those of the control group treated by simple routine acupuncture.The treatment was conducted once a day

5times a week

4weeks altogether.The clinical effect was evaluated according to the"Standards for Diagnosis and Therapeutic Effect Evaluation of Syndromes of Chinese Medicine"and the pain intensity was assessed by using simplified Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire(SF-MPQ)containing pain rating index(PRI)

visual analogue scale(VAS)and present pain intensity(PPI).Results After the treatment

of the two 30 cases of LDH sciatica patients in the control and treatment groups

11 and 18were cured

7and 7experienced marked improvement

10 and 4were effective

2and 1was invalid

with the effective rate being 93.3% and 96.7%

respectively.The cured+markedly effective rate of the treatment group was significantly higher than that of the control group(P<0.05

83.3% vs 60.0%).Compared with pre-treatment

the scores of PRI

VAS and PPI were evidently lowered in both groups(P<0.01)

and the effect of the treatment group was notably better than that of the control group(P<0.01).Conclusion Acupuncture stimulation of the sciatic nerve trunk is effective in relieving sciatica in LDH patients

and is superior to simple routine acupuncture in the clinical efficacy.