Adjuvant Laser Meridian Massage in Heroin Addicts With Methadone Treatment: an Observational Case-controlled Study

To investigate the effect of adjuvant laser meridian massage in heroin addicts with methadone treatment and establish the model of laser meridian massage treatment for drug addiction.

Methods: A case-controlled study is conducted. Fifteen male heroin addicts are enrolled from Addiction Treatment Center as treatment group. They are treated with laser meridian massage on the back including Bladder meridian and Governor vessel three times a week for 4 weeks. A control group of participants without laser meridian massage treatment are matched by age. Check urine morphine before, 2 and 4 weeks of treatment. Subjects report their times or days of heroin use and self-fill Visual Analogue Scales of heroin craving / refusal of heroin use (0-10 points) during last week before, 2 and 4 weeks of treatment. Subjects report their quality of life using Short Form-12v2 before and 4 weeks of treatment. Obtain the subject's pulse diagnosis and heart rate variability after a single treatment. Independent t test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare the differences between the treatment and control groups. Repeated measures ANOVA, Generalized estimating equations, paired t test and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test were used for comparison between the treatment and control groups.