Objective To investigate the clinical effect of acupuncture combined with five-step reduction method for treating intervertebral disc herniation (IDH). Methods A total of 80 patients meeting the requirement of IDH were selected and randomly divided into control group, acupuncture group, five-step reduction massage group and acupuncture combined five-step reduction method group. Each group included 20 subjects, who received two courses of treatment for 1 month. After the treatment, the therapeutic effects of acupuncture, five-step reduction massage, acupuncture combined with five-step reduction massage were evaluated. The observation indicators included back pain JOA scale, McGill pain scale, quality of life QOL scale, gravitational moment and muscle moment. Results After the intervention treatment, compared with control group, the JOA, McGill, QOL, gravitational moment and muscle moment of patients in acupuncture group, five-step reduction massage group, acupuncture combined five-step reduction method group were significantly improved (P＜0.05), and the improvement effect in combined treatment group was more significant (P＜0.01). Conclusions Acupuncture combined with five-step reduction method significantly improved the symptoms of lumbar disc herniation in swimmers.