Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of moxibustion therapy in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH).
Methods: Four Chinese databases and three English databases were searched from their inception to April 2018.Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included if moxibustion was used as the sole treatment or as a part of combination therapy with other treatments in patients with LDH. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and assessed the methodological quality using the Cochrane criteria for the risk of bias. The Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 software.
Results: In total, 16 RCTs including 1186 patients with LDH were analyzed. The Meta-analysis showed favorable effects of moxibustion in combination with massage therapy on the visual analog scale score compared with massage therapy alone [mean difference (MD) = -1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) (-2.12, -0.51), P = 0.001]. The subgroup Meta-analysis failed to show favorable effects of electro-acupuncture plus moxibustion on the efficacy rate compared with electro-acupuncture alone [relative risk (RR) = 1.06, 95% CI (0.98, 1.14), P = 0.15]. However, acupuncture or massage therapy plus moxibustion improved the efficacy rates compared with acupuncture or massage therapy alone [RR = 1.33, 95% CI (1.18, 1.49), P < 0.000 01] [χ2 = 2.76, P = 0.25, I2 = 27%], [RR = 1.15, 95% CI (1.06, 1.25), P = 0.001] [χ2 = 0.00, P = 0.95, I2 = 0%]. With respect to the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, acupuncture or massage therapy in addition to moxibustion produced results different from those of acupuncture or massage therapy alone [MD = 5.58, 95% CI (4.15, 7.00), P < 0.000 01] [χ2 = 0.58, P = 0.45, I2 = 0%], [MD = 3.61, 95% CI (3.01, 4.21), P < 0.000 01].There were no significant differences in the JOA score for subjective symptoms, objective symptoms, daily living ability, and other parameters. In six RCTs, no adverse reactions occurred during moxibustion.
Conclusion: Whether moxibustion is an effective intervention for LDH is unclear because of the small sample size of qualified RCTs and the high risk of bias. More high-quality RCTs that overcome the methodological shortcomings of the existing evidence are needed.
Keywords: Intervertebral disc displacement; Meta-analysis; Moxibustion; Randomized controlled trial; Review.