A patient is treated with electroacupuncture at a hospital in HCM City. VNS Photo Gia Lộc

HCM CITY— Electroacupuncture and hydro-acupuncture should be used by hospitals as a combination of modern and traditional therapy to treat pain caused by disease, according to the National Hospital of Acupuncture.

Speaking at a conference held on Saturday in HCM City, Prof Dr Nghiêm Hữu Thành, chairman of the scientific council at the hospital, said: “These therapies’ techniques are simple and safe to do. They help save treatment costs.”

According to Thành, chronic pain limits movement and affects  patients’ lives at different levels.

“Control of pain, which helps patients' quality of life, is a main goal of treatment,” he added.

Many therapies such as painkillers, massage, acupuncture, surgery and physical rehabilitation treat pain, he said.  

Local and international studies have shown the efficiency of electroacupuncture and hydro-acupuncture for pain caused by lumbar degenerative disc disease, peptic ulcers and nasopharyngeal cancer, among others.

The combination of the two therapies of electroacupuncture and hydro-acupuncture is recommended, Thành said.

Thành said that nearly 1,200 patients with these diseases at the hospital and 103 Hospital benefited from a trial treatment by using either electroacupuncture or hydro-acupuncture, or a combination of both.

The trial was carried out between February 2009 and August 2010. 

The National Hospital of Acupuncture and traditional medicine hospitals in many provinces have combined electroacupuncture and hydro-acupuncture to treat stroke, sciatica, drug addiction and other disorders, he said.

Nguyễn Hoài Nam, HCM City Department of Health’s deputy head, said that 30,000 patients have been treated with both traditional and modern medicine methods.

Many general hospitals in provinces and districts have set up a division for traditional medicine to enhance modern medical treatment. More than 81 per cent of the country’s commune-based health stations are providing traditional therapies, Nam said.  

Việt Nam's traditional medicine sector has developed well since 1978, he said, adding that the country has plentiful sources of herbs.

The co-operation between traditional and modern medicine sectors has helped address chronic diseases which will be a challenge as the country faces a rapidly aging population, he said.

The conference on combined use of traditional and modern medicines in disease treatments relating to pain, bones and joints was held by the HCM City Traditional Medicine Institute in co-operation with the National Hospital of Acupuncture in Hà Nội, and the HCM City Oriental Traditional Medicine Association.

It attracted experts and doctors from 19 southern provinces and five Central Highlands provinces. They received information about the latest professional knowledge and techniques used in high-quality traditional medicine. VNS