Abstract
Acupuncture can improve explosive force production and affect joint stiffness by affecting muscle activation levels. This study aims to explore the effects of true acupuncture (TA) compared with sham acupuncture (SA) on the explosive force production and stiffness of the knee joint in healthy male subjects. Twenty subjects were randomly divided into the TA group (n = 10) and SA group (n = 10) to complete isokinetic movement of the right knee joint at a speed of 240°/s before and after acupuncture. Futu (ST32), Liangqiu (ST34), Zusanli (ST36), Xuehai (SP10), and Chengshan (BL57) were selected for acupuncture. The intervention of SA is that needles with a blunt tip were pushed against the skin, giving an illusion of insertion. The results showed that acupuncture and the intervention time had a significant interaction effect on knee joint explosive force and joint stiffness (p < 0.05). The average maximum (max) torque, average work, average power, average peak power and total work of the TA group increased significantly after acupuncture (p < 0.05), while the SA group did not (p > 0.05). Therefore, true acupuncture can immediately improve the explosive force and joint stiffness of the male knee joint by inducing post-activation potentiation (PAP) and/or De-Qi.
Highlights
This suggests that between-subject factor (TA and sham acupuncture group (SA) group) and within-subject factor significantly affect the explosive force and joint stiffness of knee joint flexion
Our results suggest that 20 min of acupuncture at ST32, ST34, ST36, SP10, and BL57 can immediately improve the explosive force and joint stiffness of knee joint flexion/extension compared to sham acupuncture
The result of this study shows that after acupuncture at the specific acupoints ST32, ST34, ST36, SP10, and BL57 around the knee joint for 20 min, the isokinetic parameter values of posttest, including the average max torque, average work, average power, average peak power, and total work for flexion/extension and stiffness for flexion/extension, increase compared with pretest
Summary
Acupuncture as a nondrug therapy has been widely recognized and studied worldwide [1]. Traditional acupuncture therapy is becoming increasingly popular in Western countries. In the UK, approximately 4 million acupuncture treatments were provided to patients in 2009 [2]. Acupuncture has been widely used in clinical medicine for the treatment of dysfunction caused by knee joint diseases. Past studies have shown that acupuncture improves balance function by enhancing the activity of brain neurons to increase the muscle strength of knee extensor muscle and hip flexor muscle of paralyzed and nonparalyzed limbs in stroke patients [3]. In early rehabilitation after total knee replacement, acupuncture treatment can alleviate the pain and swelling of the knee joint and accelerate the recovery of joint range of motion (ROM) [4].
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