Table 4. The statistical comparison of pain VAS scores between the experimental and control groups at different time points.

Variable		Experimental group (n=6)	Control group (n=6)
		M ± SD	M ± SD
VAS score	baseline	48.3 ± 24.0	45.0 ± 10.5
	week 4	40.0 ± 27.6	43.3 ± 8.2
	week 8	33.3 ± 26.6	35.0 ± 10.5
	week 12	10.0 ± 11.0 *	35.0 ± 12.2

M: mean; SD: standard deviation; VAS: visual analogue scale; *p<0.05 significant difference at this time point in the group