Objective: To summarize the indication rules of Baliao points (bilateral BL 31, 32, 33 and 34) based on the clinical literature research.
Methods: The relevant articles of clinical research on the treatment with Baliao points were retrieved electronically from CNKI (1979 to 2017), VIP (1989 to 2017), CBM (1979 to 2017) and PubMed (1966 to 2017). The paper were collected and analyzed. The indications, common therapeutic methods, common acupoint combination, treatment frequency, treatment duration and therapeutic effects of Baliao points were summarized.
Results: A total 160 articles were collected, of them, 43.75% (70/160) of the articles were related to the treatment of urinary diseases, followed by the gynecological diseases (34/160, 21.25%), proctologic diseases (23/160, 14.38%) and motor system diseases (16/160, 10.00%). Regarding the individual disease, the articles for post-stroke urination disorder were of the highest proportion (26/160, 16.25%), followed by neurogenic bladder induced by spinal injury (15/160, 9.38%), dysmenorrheal (14/160, 8.75%) and constipation (14/160, 8.75%). Regarding the therapeutic method, the electroacupuncture intervention accounts for 30.36% (34/112), followed by the common acupuncture (30/112, 26.79%), warm acupuncture (11/112, 9.82%) and tuina therapy (9/112, 8.04%). The treatment was given commonly once a day. The point combinations and the treatment duration were different in terms of individual case. The effective rates of common disorders were up to over 75%.
Conclusion: In clinic, Baliao points are mainly used for the disorders in the urinary system, gynecological department, proctology department, motor system, andrology department, etc., or for particular diseases. The main indications are post-stroke urination disorder, neurogenic bladder induced by spinal injury, dysmenorrheal and constipation. Regarding the therapeutic method, electroacupuncture and common needling techniques are adopted generally. The treatment is given generally once a day. The point combination and treatment duration are different in individual case. The treatment with Baliao points is high in the effective rates for the common disorders, good in safety and less in adverse reactions.
Keywords: Baliao points; indication diseases; indication rules; literature research; therapeutic methods.