Search

In April 2020, Medical Acupuncture published the epub version of the article entitled, Acupuncture Compared to Conscious Sedation for Pain Relief During In-Vitro Fertilization Oocyte Retrieval by S...

This study aims to explore the potential use of ultrasound in locating the second posterior sacral foramen acupuncture point, quantifying depth of insertion and describing surrounding anatomical structures. We performed acupuncture needle insertion on a study team member. There were four steps in our experiment. First, the acupuncturist located the acupuncture point by palpation. Second, we used an ultrasound machine to visualize the structures surrounding the location of the acupuncture point and measure the depth required for needle insertion. Third, the acupuncturist inserted the acupuncture needle into the acupuncture point at an angle of 30°. Fourth, we performed another ultrasound scan to ensure that the needle was in the desired location. Results suggested that ultrasound could be used to locate the acupuncture point and estimate the depth of needle insertion. The needle was inserted to a depth of 4.0 cm to reach the surface of the sacral foramen. Based on Pythagoras theorem, taking a needle insertion angle of 30° and a needle insertion depth of 4.0 cm, the estimated perpendicular depth is 1.8 cm. An ultrasound scan corroborated the depth of 1.85 cm. The use of an ultrasound-guided technique for needle insertion in acupuncture practice could help standardize the treatment. Clinicians and students would be able to visualize and measure the depth of the sacral foramen acupuncture point, to guide the depth of needle insertion. This methodological guide could also be used to create a standard treatment protocol for research. A similar mathematical guide could also be created for other acupuncture points in future.

Color Doppler imaging (CDI) can be used to noninvasively create images of human blood vessels and quantitatively evaluate blood flow in real-time. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of acupuncture on the blood flow of the peripheral, mesenteric, and retrobulbar arteries by CDI. Statistical significance was defined as P values less than 0.05. Blood flow in the radial and brachial arteries was significantly lower during needle stimulation on LR3 than before in healthy volunteers, but was significantly higher after needle stimulation than before. LR3 stimulation also resulted in a significant decrease in the vascular resistance of the short posterior ciliary artery and no significant change of blood flow through the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) during acupuncture. In contrast, ST36 stimulation resulted in a significant increase in blood flow through the SMA and no significant change in the vascular resistance of the retrobulbar arteries. Additionally, acupuncture at previously determined acupoints in patients with open-angle glaucoma led to a significant reduction in the vascular resistance of the central retinal artery and short posterior ciliary artery. Our results suggest that acupuncture can affect blood flow of the peripheral, mesenteric, and retrobulbar arteries, and CDI can be useful to evaluate hemodynamic changes by acupuncture.

Acupuncture has been found to relieve muscle stiffness effectively, especially after physical exercise.1 2 Previous studies have measured muscle stiffness pre- and post-acupuncture using a pressure scale1 or ‘muscle hardness meter’.2 Both of these methods estimate muscle stiffness based on the pressure required to compress muscle. Limitations of these devices include potential inaccuracy of measurement, as the distribution of muscle stiffness may be heterogeneous, as well as inability to visualise the muscle. Furthermore, changes in muscle stiffness during acupuncture needling cannot be evaluated. An ultrasound-based shear wave imaging technique has recently been developed to measure muscle stiffness.3 Benefits of using ultrasound include the ability to visualise the muscle under investigation and to quantify changes in muscle stiffness over time. Ultrasound as an imaging modality has many potential uses in acupuncture research and education,4 and can be successfully used to explore its physiological and physical effects.5 The aim of this study was to measure the effects of acupuncture needling on muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography. ### Acupuncture needle insertion We performed acupuncture needle insertion on two healthy volunteers (one male, one female) who were part of the study team. The acupuncture point used …

Quantification of needle movements during insertion and manipulation has been a challenge for acupuncturists.1 Needle manipulation includes lifting and thrusting of the needle and/or needle rotation after insertion. Such movements are critical for the elicitation of de qi and maximisation of treatment effectiveness. However, needle manipulation is highly individualised among acupuncturists, and this could have implications for treatment outcomes. Two studies have explored the displacement, rotation, torque and force exerted during needle manipulation using motion sensors (Acusensors).2 ,3 However, they did not include the speed of needle insertion and rotation. Our study aimed to analyse the trajectory of acupuncture needle motion from insertion to rotation manipulation to achieve de qi . We performed acupuncture needle insertion on a study team member. The team member signed an institutional informed consent form acknowledging that he knew the procedure involved during acupuncture, and understood the possible risks and complications. The acupuncture was performed by a certified acupuncturist with more than 20 years …

Ultrasound has been commonly used to guide clinical procedures in Western medicine, such as peripheral nerve blocks, biopsies, and fluid aspiration. Ultrasound is a useful tool because it is non-invasive, allows real-time visualisation of body images, and poses no risk to the human body, as it uses sound waves that are generally safe. In addition to guiding clinical procedures, ultrasound has been used to train medical students to perform clinical examinations.1 From a review of the literature, only one study has explored the use of ultrasound for acupuncture, and this focused on detecting soft-tissue displacement from movement of the needle.2 No study has explored the use of ultrasound in demonstrating the relationship between an acupuncture needle and the surrounding anatomical structures real-time in vivo. The aim of our study was to evaluate its feasibility and to discuss the implications for education and research. This study was conducted on a human cadaveric hand. Ultrasound scans were conducted using a Siemens Acuson P300 ultrasound system with a …

Objective To preliminarily observe the effects of cupping on localized skin temperature of patients with back pain. Methods A total of 43 patients with back pain were included in this study. They were treated with medium-sized cups with a volume of 260 mL. The randomly selected Xīnshū ( BL 15) on one side (37 cases) was given cupping treatment while that on the other side as the control. And Shenshū ( BL 23) (6 cases) was treated in the same way. The thermal infrared imager was used to record the changes in localized skin temperature before and after cupping (for 10 minutes), and then comparison was made with that of the control side. Results After cupping, the localized skin temperature fell and then rose. When the cup was removed after retaining for 10 minutes, the localized skin temperature was (0.4±0.9) °C (P=0.004) lower than that before cupping; 10 minutes after cupping off, the localized skin temperature was (0.4±1.1) °C (P=0.016) higher than that before cupping while (0.810.9) °C higher than that when cupping off. The skin surface temperature on the control side declined steadily. Conclusion After cupping treatment, the localized skin temperature fell and then rose while that of the control side declined steadily. It might be related to therapeutic effects.

Objective To determine the effect of acupuncture on the phosphene threshold, by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and the clinical effect of acupuncture on headache frequency, duration and severity. Methods Twenty-one patients (16 women; mean age 46 years; range 23–61 years, 17 Chinese, 2 Malays, 2 Indians) underwent 10 acupuncture sessions scheduled twice a week for 5 weeks. The lowest TMS intensity to elicit phosphene perception is defined as the phosphene threshold. TMS was performed before the first and last sessions, and at 2 months’ follow-up. Results Acupuncture resulted in reduction of headache frequency, duration and severity over the course of treatment. However, this was not accompanied by a corresponding increase in the phosphene threshold over a similar time course. The baseline threshold before acupuncture treatment had no predictive value for outcome of treatment. Conclusions Although acupuncture was effective in treating migraine, the use of occipital cortex excitability as an adjunctive parameter to evaluate treatment response was not suitable. The relief of migraine with acupuncture may be related to separate neural pathways independent of occipital or visual processes in the human brain.