Abstract
Siguan acupoints have been used to treat gastrointestinal symptoms in acupuncture practices for a long time. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Siguan acupuncture on gastrointestinal motility under accelerated conditions using a randomized, sham-acupuncture-controlled, crossover study. Twenty-one healthy male subjects were hospitalized and randomized into either a real acupuncture group (at Siguan acupoints) or a sham acupuncture group. Subjects were administered with mosapride citrate (15 mg a day) for 2 days starting 24 hours before the first acupuncture treatment. Immediately after the administration of radio markers, acupuncture treatment was conducted 4 times at 12-hour intervals. Gastrointestinal motility was assessed using radiograph distribution of the radio-markers located in the small intestine, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, rectum, and outside the body immediately after the first acupuncture treatment and at 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours. After a 2-week washout period, the real acupuncture group in the first session was treated with sham acupuncture in the second session, and vice versa. Gastrointestinal motility was generally reduced in the real acupuncture group compared with the sham acupuncture group throughout the 4 different time points. A significant difference was observed at 24 hours following the first acupuncture treatment (P < 0.05).
Highlights
Acupuncture is a typical therapy applied in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine that stimulates specific acupoints on the human body either manually or electronically
We previously showed that Siguan acupuncture does not influence GI motility in healthy subjects [10], while it accelerates GI motility in individuals in a loperamide-induced suppressed condition [11]
Along with the time points of radiography, both the RA and SA groups showed an increase in exponential weighted score (EWS) values, thereby indicating the gradual passage of radio markers from the stomach and small intestine into the rectum and outside of the body
Summary
Acupuncture is a typical therapy applied in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine that stimulates specific acupoints on the human body either manually or electronically. The effects of acupuncture treatment may depend on the selected acupoints, the combination of acupoints, and the intensity of stimulation. Traditional Chinese medicine stresses that acupuncture is applied to restore a balance between “ying” and “yang” and to regulate the flow of “qi” and “blood.” The mechanisms of acupuncture are unclear; many studies have reported that acupuncture treatment contributes to the maintenance of the biochemical balance of the central nervous system [4, 5]. Acupuncture performed at the same acupoints can be used to treat the opposing symptoms. Acupuncture performed at GV20 has been shown to be Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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