A Randomized Controlled Study on the Treatment of Military Training-Induced Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain With Stagnation Acupuncture Therapy Based on Neuromuscular Control Theory

Objective: This study aims to observe the clinical efficacy of stagnation acupuncture therapy guided by neuromuscular control theory in the treatment of military training-induced chronic nonspecific lower back pain and its effect on serum inflammatory factors. Method: Patients with military training-related chronic nonspecific low back pain were randomly divided into three groups, namely, the stagnation acupuncture group, ordinary acupuncture group, and physiotherapy group, with 30 cases in each group. The physiotherapy group received conventional physical therapy, the ordinary acupuncture group received traditional acupuncture treatment in addition to physical therapy, and the stagnation acupuncture group received stagnation acupuncture treatment in addition to physical therapy. The simplified McGill pain questionnaire scores (including PRI score, PPI score, and VAS score), finger-to-floor distance (FFD), lumbar muscle endurance (flexor endurance time, extensor endurance time), lumbar muscle strength, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) assessment score, serum inflammatory factors, and clinical efficacy were compared before treatment and after 2 weeks of treatment. Result: The McGill score, finger-to-floor distance (FFD), lumbar muscle endurance (flexor endurance time, extensor endurance time), lumbar muscle strength, JOA score, and serum inflammatory factors in the stagnation acupuncture group were significantly improved compared with those in the ordinary acupuncture group and the physiotherapy group ( P < 0.05), and all three groups were statistically significant compared with before treatment ( P < 0.05). The total effective rate of the stagnation acupuncture group after treatment was 96.67%, which was significantly better than that of the ordinary acupuncture group (90.00%) and physical therapy group (75.76%) ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: Under the guidance of neuromuscular control theory, the stagnation acupuncture therapy focuses on central integration and inflammation regulation as breakthrough points, concentrating on lumbar spine mechanical modulation to treat chronic nonspecific low back pain caused by military training. It has unique advantages such as simplified acupoint selection, mild pain, minimal trauma, and a wide range of effects, making it worthy of clinical promotion and application.