Abstract
Background Warm-needle acupuncture (WA) and fire-needle acupuncture are treatment techniques that use the combination of acupuncture and thermal stimulation. In clinical practice, a new method of fire-needle acupuncture called “heated-needle acupuncture (HA)” has been proposed, wherein the needle is directly heated after insertion. WA and HA share similarities in their methods, and no previous study has sought to assess whether their thermal outcomes are also similar. Methods We controlled environmental variables and measured the maximum temperatures and temperature changes of a silicon phantom in which K-type thermocouples were embedded at depths of 0, 2, 5, 7, and 10 mm. WA and HA were also performed with acupuncture needles of various thicknesses (0.30 × 40 mm, 0.40 × 40 mm, and 0.50 × 40 mm). Results Different time-dependent temperature distributions were observed between the two acupuncture methods: HA yielded a higher maximum temperature and temperature change on the surface, whereas WA yielded higher temperatures at the other tested depths. The thermal patterns were similar among the needles of different thicknesses for each method, with the following exception: while the temperature change and maximum temperature did not differ significantly by needle thickness for WA, these parameters increased significantly with needle thickness for HA. Conclusion The two acupuncture procedures yielded different thermal patterns in a controlled environment. Further studies are necessary to reflect the effect of external environment variables occurring in reality.
Highlights
Both Warm-needle acupuncture (WA) and fire-needle acupuncture (FA) involve the application of heat stimulation to the needle, but there is a difference in the Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine procedure: In WA, moxa is burned after insertion, whereas in FA, the needle is heated with fire before insertion. [12] e distinction of heating method between WA and heating-after-insertion FA” (HA) is less clear, as both methods involve the application of heat after needle insertion. e differences between the two acupuncture methods lie in the heat source and heating time
E existing research on temperature outcomes obtained by WA has mainly focused on temperature changes at or above the skin surface [21–23]
Even though the thermal efficiency of WA is known to be greatly affected by environmental factors, such as airflow [24], the external environment was often not controlled in previous studies
Summary
Warm-needle acupuncture (WA) and fire-needle acupuncture are treatment techniques that use the combination of acupuncture and thermal stimulation. WA and HA share similarities in their methods, and no previous study has sought to assess whether their thermal outcomes are similar. We controlled environmental variables and measured the maximum temperatures and temperature changes of a silicon phantom in which K-type thermocouples were embedded at depths of 0, 2, 5, 7, and 10 mm. Different time-dependent temperature distributions were observed between the two acupuncture methods: HA yielded a higher maximum temperature and temperature change on the surface, whereas WA yielded higher temperatures at the other tested depths. E thermal patterns were similar among the needles of different thicknesses for each method, with the following exception: while the temperature change and maximum temperature did not differ significantly by needle thickness for WA, these parameters increased significantly with needle thickness for HA. E two acupuncture procedures yielded different thermal patterns in a controlled environment. Further studies are necessary to reflect the effect of external environment variables occurring in reality
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