Complex treatment of the vibration disease by reflexotherapy and pulsed magnetic stimulation

Introduction. In the basic treatment of a number of diseases, including neuropathies, which are one of the main manifestations of vibration disease (VD), preference is given to the complex use of several physical methods, which allows obtainingt an effect that is not achievable if only one of the influencing factors is used. The aim of the study. Improving the effectiveness of drug-free treatment of the vibration disease associated with exposure to local vibration. Materials and methods. Using the combined effects of acupuncture (IRT) and pulsed magnetic stimulation (MS), there were treated thirty eight male patients (average age 47.6±4.3 years, average work experience in contact with local vibration – 20.8±3.4 years). All cases had a diagnosis of VD associated with exposure to local vibration. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed by the results of EEG, electroneuromyography (ENMG), and registration of somatosensory evoked potentials (SSVP), algesimetry, and determination of vibration sensitivity. A psychological examination was conducted. Results. After treatment, an improvement in indices of visual and somatosensory evoked potentials, vibration sensitivity and algesimetry data was found. There was an increase in the time of propagation of arousal along afferent and efferent axons, and the mnestic-attentional and psychoemotional spheres of activity were normalized. The use of therapy methods weakened the chronization of the pathological process, prevented patients from becoming ill. Limitations. The limitation of the study may be that the testing of non-drug treatments was not compared with the results obtained with drug therapy. Conclusion. The proposed therapy has expanded the possibilities of rehabilitation in VD patients. The use of IRT in combination with MS increased the level of compensatory and restorative processes in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The proposed treatment method does not require patients to stay in a hospital, which will reduce treatment costs.