Do changes in electrical skin resistance of acupuncture points reflect menstrual pain? A comparative study in healthy volunteers and primary dysmenorrhea patients.

Yan-Fen She,Jia-Shan Song,Chun-Hua Li,Yu-Qi Liu,Ling Tang,Liang-Xiao Ma,Cong-Hui Qi,Hong-Wen Yuan,Jiang Zhu,Yan-Xia Wang

doi:10.1155/2014/836026

Abstract

Electrical skin resistance (ESR) measurements were performed with a four-electrode impedance detector at 10 points bilaterally on the first day of and the third day after menstruation in 48 healthy volunteers and 46 primary dysmenorrhea (PD) patients, to assess whether ESR changes of acupuncture points can reflect menstrual pain or not. The results showed statistical reductions in ESR imbalance ratio between left and right side that were detected at SP8 (Diji) and GB39 (Xuanzhong) (P < 0.05), and a statistical increase was detected at SP6 (Sanyinjiao) (P = 0.05) on the first day of menstruation compared with those values on the third day after menstruation in dysmenorrhea group. No significant differences were detected at other points within and between two groups (P > 0.05). This study showed that the imbalance of ESR at uterine-relevant points in PD patients is not significantly different from those of healthy women on both the 1st day of and the 3rd day after menstruation. The ESR imbalance ratio of certain points can either be lower or higher during menstruation in PD patients. The ESR property of acupuncture points needs to be investigated in further clinical trials with appropriate points, diseases, larger sample sizes, and optimal device.

Highlights

In classic Chinese acupuncture theory, acupuncture points are the sites receiving needling stimulation for treatment, and the places reflecting the condition of diseases for diagnosis
A total of 48 healthy volunteers and 46 patients with primary dysmenorrhea (PD) were recruited into the trial (Figure 5)
Means and standard deviations (SD) and median scores as well as range were determined for Electrical skin resistance (ESR) difference ratio at the same points between left and right side

Summary

Introduction

In classic Chinese acupuncture theory, acupuncture points are the sites receiving needling stimulation for treatment, and the places reflecting the condition of diseases for diagnosis. Since 1950s, many studies asserted that points and meridians possess reduced ESR compared to adjacent areas [1,2,3,4]. Numerous devices have been created and widely used for the purpose of locating acupuncture points, diagnosis, and treatment in the clinical practice and research of acupuncture [7,8,9]. This widely believed explanation of electrical properties of acupuncture points, has been questioned yet. Many studies conducted recently showed that points and meridians had unique electrical properties [10,11,12,13], a systematic review found that those studies were

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