Acupuncture plus cupping for treating insomnia in college students.

OBJECTIVE: To observe clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture plus cupping for treating insomnia in college students. METHODS: Ninety two college students suffering from insomnia were randomly divided into a treatment group (52 cases) and a control group (40 cases). Acupuncture plus cupping was used for profiting the brain and tranquilizing the mind in the treatment group, and conventional differentiation of symptoms and signs was used in the control group. Therapeutic effect, number of treatment, self-rating sleeping scaling (SRSS), and subtracted rate were evaluated after one month of treatment. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in effective rate between the two groups (P < 0.05). For the cases with moderate insomnia, the effective rate was obviously better in the treatment group than that in the control group (P < 0.05), and for the cases with slight and moderate insomnia, the average treatment number was remarkably less in the former than that in the latter (P < 0.01). SRSS was reduced in both groups (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). The subtracted rate in the former was more than that in the latter (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The therapeutic effect in the treatment group was better than that in the control group, showing superiority in the cases with moderate insomnia with less treatments and more improved and cured rates.

J Tradit Chin Med. 2010 Sep;30(3):185-9. Zhang YF, Ren GF, Zhang XC. Hospital of Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, Shandong 252059, China.