Background: Thunder-fire moxibustion originated in China and contains traditional Chinese medicine. It can produce strong firepower, infrared thermal radiation, and medicinal effects when burning on the acupoints. Thunder-fire moxibustion is commonly used in patients with neck pain, but its efficacy has rarely been systematically demonstrated. We designed a randomized trial of thunder-fire moxibustion on cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR) to investigate whether it is more effective than ibuprofen sustained-release capsules. Methods: One hundred patients will be recruited and randomly divided into thunder-fire moxibustion and ibuprofen groups. The intervention consists of ten treatments and will last for 2 weeks. The Yasuhisa Tanaka 20 Score Scale is used as the primary outcome measure. It contains a combination of the self-conscious symptom in patients, objective clinical evaluation from doctors, and social evaluation (the ability to work and live). The objective and comprehensive evaluation of CSR patients before and after treatment is particularly needed. The Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire-2 (SF-MPQ-2), Neck Disability Index score scale (NDI), and the Quality of Life Assessment (SF-36) are applied as secondary outcome measures. The assessment will take place at the baseline and the first and second weekends of treatment. If an adverse event (AEs) occurs, it will be reported. Discussion: The aim of this trial is to determine whether thunder-fire moxibustion is more effective than ibuprofen in the treatment of patients with CSR.

Background: Bo's abdominal acupuncture (BAA) is a novel therapy in alternative and complementary medicine and has been frequently used for stroke recovery in recent decades. However, no systematic evidence has been performed to confirm the effect and safety of BAA as an adjunctive therapy for post-stroke motor dysfunction (PSMD).Objectives: This review aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of BAA as an adjunctive therapy for improving allover motor function, upper limb motor function, lower limb motor function, and activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with PSMD.Methods: Seven databases were searched from inception to December 2020: Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Chinese Biological Medicine Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, WAN FANG, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving BAA plus another therapy vs. the same other therapy alone were identified. The methodological quality of the included trials was assessed according to the Cochrane risk of bias criteria. If more than half of the domains in a study are at low risk of bias, the overall quality of the study is low risk. We conducted a meta-analysis for primary outcomes using a random effects model and performed a narrative summary for the secondary outcome. We also conducted subgroup analysis for primary outcomes based on different add-on treatments to BAA. Random effects and fixed effects models were used to test the robustness of the pooled data. We also tested the robustness of the meta-analysis using specific methodological variables that could affect primary outcome measures.Results:Twenty-one trials with 1,473 patients were included in this systematic review. The overall quality of the 14 included trials (66.7%) was low risk. Meta-analyses indicated that the effect of the BAA group was better than that of the non-EA group on the Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale (FMA) (weight mean difference (WMD) 9.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.23 to 11.83, P < 0.00001), FMA for upper extremities (WMD 11.08, 95% CI 5.83 to 16.32, P < 0.0001), FMA for lower extremities (WMD 5.57, 95% CI 2.61 to 8.54, P = 0.0002), and modified Barthel Index (standardized mean difference (SMD) 1.02, 95% CI 0.65 to 1.39, P < 0.00001). Two trials (9.5%) reported BAA-related adverse events, and the most common adverse event was local subcutaneous ecchymosis.Conclusions: BAA as an adjunctive therapy may have clinical benefits for improving allover motor function, upper limb motor function, lower limb motor function, and ADL in patients with PSMD. BAA-related adverse events were rare, tolerable, and recoverable. However, our review findings should be interpreted with caution because of the methodological weaknesses in the included trials. High-quality trials are needed to assess the adjunctive role of BAA in patients with PSMD.