| Objective Primary osteoporosis includes postmenopausal osteoporosis (type I), senile osteoporosis (type II), and idiopathic osteoporosis, among which type I and type II are highly prevalent. The study aims to explore the correlation between type I and II osteoporosis and syndrome-element differentiation, and to promote the inheriting and innovation of TCM syndrome differentiation. Methods According to the diagnosis criteria based on combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine, we observed syndrome-element differentiation in 100 randomly selected patients with Type I or Type II osteoporosis, and investigated the correlation between the disease location, property, syndrome, element, and type I, II osteoporosis, and the correlation between the pain degree and the syndrome-element of the patients. Results Patients with type I osteoporosis had disease location mostly in kidney (59%), followed by spleen (50%) and liver (41%). In patients with type II osteoporosis, the disease is located mostly in kidney (75%), followed by liver (46%) and spleen (32%). In type I osteoporosis, the number of different syndrome-element was in the order of Yin deficiency > Yang deficiency > cold or phlegm or dampness > blood stasis > Qi stagnation. In type II osteoporosis, the number of different syndrome-element was in the order of Yang deficiency > Qi stagnation > Yin deficiency > blood stasis > cold or phlegm or dampness. The most severity of pain was in liver and blood stasis, and followed by spleen and Yin deficiency. In Yang deficiency and cold and phlegm dampness, the pain was moderate. Conclusion According to different combination of syndrome and elements, type I osteoporosis is most in kidney Yin deficiency, spleen and kidney Yang deficiency syndrome. Type II osteoporosis is most in kidney Yin and Yang deficiency and liver qi stagnation. The pain in osteoporosis is severe in liver and blood stasis, while the pain is mild in spleen and Yin deficiency. It shows that there is a strong correlation between type I and type II osteoporosis and syndrome-element differentiation. The combination of syndrome and element provides a new way for diagnosis and treatment, and establishes a theoretical basis for revealing the scientific core of syndrome-element differentiation. |