Analgesic Effect Of Acupuncture Research Articles

The Use of Acupuncture in Dentistry: A Systematic Review

Published controlled studies on the analgesic effect of acupuncture in dentistry are still relatively few, but those which fulfil predefined methodological criteria are reviewed to assess if acupuncture is effective in this field. A literature search identified 74 papers published between 1966 and 1996, and 48 are reviewed. Only 15 of the papers fulfil a number of predefined criteria: having a reference group, randomisation, blinding, appropriate statistics, sufficient follow-up, etc. Of the 15 papers only one study meets more than 85% of the criteria, five meet 70–84%, three studies meet 60–69%, and six do not reach 60% of the predefined criteria and are thus considered unreliable. Eleven out of the 15 studies were in favour of acupuncture and showed standard acupuncture to be more effective than placebo, non-standard (sham) acupuncture, or showed it to be able to produce better or similar results to an accepted treatment procedure. The higher the standard of the paper, the more likely it was to have a positive result in favour of acupuncture: all those in the excellent or good categories gave a favourable result Acupuncture proved effective in 73% of the reviewed papers for the treatment of Temporomandibular dysfunction or as an analgesic, and should be considered as a reasonable alternative or supplement to current dental practice in these areas.

Acupuncture and reflex sympathetic dystrophy

The term "reflex sympathetic dystrophy" (RSD) is used for various syndromes, e.g. posttraumatic edema, shoulder-hand syndrome, algodystrophy and causalgia. The clinical symptoms of RSD are characterized by a triad of autonomic, sensory and motor disturbances, which usually develop in the distal region of an affected extremity. The main symptoms are swelling, a side difference in skin temperature (autonomic symptoms), reduced active movements and muscular strength (motor symptoms) and spontaneous, deep, diffuse pain with an orthostatic component (sensory system). As soon as possible the treatment of RSD should include sympatholytic strategies and obligatory physical therapy. Acupuncture has also been reported to reduce sympathetic activity. The analgesic effect of acupuncture is well known, and therefore from an at least theoretical point of view, it should make sense to use acupuncture in the treatment of RSD. To date, however, no prospective, randomized, controlled, clinical long-term studies have been done. One short-term study showed promising results, but did not reach statistical significance. In that study acupuncture treatment seemed to alleviate the major symptoms of RSD. Since acupuncture rarely has side effects, its role as an additional option in the treatment of RSD should be further investigated.

Ascending pathways of skin and deep information projecting to the ventral posterior lateral nucleus of thalamus in the cat.

In acupuncture, the typical sensation induced by insertion of a needle into the muscle that called “De Qi” is essential to induce acupuncture analgesia. The effect of acupuncture analgesia may depend on the deep afferents rather than to the cutaneous ones at the acupuncture point. The ascending pathways conveying these skin and deep afferents project to the ventral posterior lateral nucleus (VPL) of thalamus, one of the thalamic relay nuclei projected to the cerebral cortex, were examined by spinal cord lesion at the cervical level with observation of the responses evoked by electrical stimulation applied selectively to the skin and deep tissues.Neuronal discharges were recorded extracellularly from the VPL using the multimicroelectrode technique. After spontaneous neuronal activities were recorded, the receptive fields and characteristics were determined by applying some kinds of mechanical stimulation to the receptive field. The skin and deep structures were then selectively stimulated using a pair of stainless steel needles and insulated needles except for tips. Units were classified for skin units, deep units, and skin-deep units according to the responses to the electrical stimulation. Responses were elicited in some neurons following to both skin and deep stimuli. The latency of response elicited by electrical stimulation applied to the deep structure was slightly shorter than that of the skin structure. The recording sites for deep units were located more rostrally in the dorsal region of the VPL than that for the skin units.The afferents of some skin-deep neurons from both skin and deep structures were ascended through different pathways in the spinal cord. The skin and deep afferents were found to converge at the thalamic level.

The analgesic effects of acupuncture on experimental pain threshold and somatosensory evoked potentials in healthy volunteers

Recently, the analgesic effects of acupuncture have been brought into question, mainly because of the methodological inadequacies of previous studies. This single-blind placebo-controlled study examined the effects of manual acupuncture administered at a point related to the site of electrically induced pain at the finger (i.e. Pericardium 6 ) and a point unrelated to the site of electrically induced pain (i.e. Gallbladder 20) in normal subjects. The effects of acupuncture on the amplitudes of the late waveform components of the somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by painful electrical stimulation of the index finger were also examined. The main findings of this study were that, when compared to sham acupuncture or control groups, acupuncture administered at either Pericardium 6 or Gallbladder 20 did not significantly change: (i) sensory detection threshold, pain threshold or pain tolerance to electrically induced pain administered to the index finger, and (ii) P 1 N 1 or N 1 P 2 amplitudes of late latency waveform components of the somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by a painful electrical stimulus delivered to the index finger. Although acupuncture appears to be successful in relieving the pain of many chronic pain sufferers, these findings substantiate recent meta-analyses which conclude that the analgesic effects of acupuncture under placebo-controlled conditions remain in doubt. Our results should serve as an incentive for further research into the analgesic effects of acupuncture under placebo-controlled conditions.

Hypalgesic efficacy of acupuncture on experimental pain in man. Comparison of laser acupuncture and needle acupuncture

The analgesic effect of acupuncture on cutaneous heat stimuli of 43°C has been evaluated in a controlled experimental study with healthy, informed volunteers. Laser acupuncture was administered to 39 probationers using a helium-neon laser under double-blind conditions. The point Hegu (L.I.4) and Jianqian (Extra.) on both sides were each irradiated for 1 min. Forty probationers were needled with stainless steel needles in the point Hegu (L.I.4) on both sides under single-blind conditions. Pain threshold was measured in terms of the time (in msec) that the probationers needed to perceive the cutaneous heat stimulus of 43°C. The painful stimulus was generated by a computer-controlled standardized procedure. The Wilcoxon test was used for the statistical evaluation. Laser acupuncture did not change the pain threshold. Needle acupuncture did, however, increase the pain threshold compared with the initial value ( α = 0.1%). The difference compared with the control group, where a placebo point was needled, was also significant ( α = 5%). This controlled experimental study proves the analgesic effect of needle acupuncture on painful heat stimuli. Laser acupuncture had no effect on pain threshold in this study.

Analgesic effects of acupuncture in thoracolumbar disc disease in dogs

ABSTRACTThe analgesic effects of acupuncture were studied in 38 dogs affected by acute thoracolumbar disc disease, type I to IV. Steel acupuncture needles were inserted into selected acupuncture points. Stimulation time was 20 minutes. Electrical stimulation of needles, ear‐acupuncture, vitamins B and C and antibiotics were occasionally used in some dogs of types I and II and in the majority of types III and IV. Pain relief was observed in 62.5 per cent of dogs of type I (back‐pain), in 70.5 per cent of dogs of type II (hindlimb paresis, backpain) and in 39 per cent of dogs of types III and IV (hindlimb paralysis, backpain) after the first acupuncture treatment. Dogs of type I and II responded significantly better (P<0.01) than dogs of type III and IV at the fourth treatment (100 per cent and 61.5 per cent, respectively).

D-フェニルアラニンによる鍼鎮痛および鍼麻酔の増強効果に関する研究(第2報)

D-フェニルアラニンによる鍼鎮痛および鍼麻酔の増強効果に関する研究(第2報)

The immediate analgesic effect of acupuncture in pain of chronic tennis elbow end the acupuncture treatment of chronic tennis elbow

The immediate analgesic effect of acupuncture in pain of chronic tennis elbow end the acupuncture treatment of chronic tennis elbow

Effect of injection of TRH into cerebral ventricles on the analgesic effect of acupuncture and morphine in rats.

Value of pain threshold of rats as index was determined by radiant heat-induced tail-flick to observe the effects of injection of TRH (10 μ/20 μ1) into cerebral ventricles (i.c.v.) on the analgesic effect induced by electro-acupuncture (1, 2 or 3 V) of bilateral “Zu San Li” and “San Yin Jiao”, and s.c. injection of morphine (2, 4, 6 mg/kg). The results of our study indicated that injection of TRH i.c.v. does not influence the radiant heat-induced tail-flick response of rats under normal condition, but antagonizes the analgesic effect caused by electro-acupuncture 2 and 3 V in strength and by s.c. infection of morphine (2, 4 mg/kg).

Inhibition of sympathetic nervous system by acupuncture.

The central and peripheral sympathetic activities were measured both physiologically and biochemically in either human subjects or conscious rabbits. Acupuncture reduced NE levels in perfusates of certain brain areas as well as in blood circulation, accompanied with a rise of pain threshold, and changes of certain physiological indices (palm temperature, fingerplethysmogram and pain tolerance threshold) which are related with functions of sympathetic nervous system. These results suggest that the NE neurons of NE ascending dorsal fasciculus has some antagonizing effect on acupuncture analgesic effect, acupuncture inhibits sympathetic activities, and such inhibition plays a favorable role in acupuncture analgesia.

Effect of morphine and naloxone on acupuncture analgesia in unrestrained rats

Experiments on unrestrained rats showed that electroacupuncture of an acupuncture point distinctly reduces the nociceptive response to electrical stimulation of the base of the tail. Morphine, in a subanalgesic dose (5 mg/kg), potentiated the analgesic effect of acupuncture. Naloxone, in a dose of 5 mg/kg, completely abolished acupuncture analgesia. The possible mechanisms of analgesia production by electroacupuncture are discussed.

ACUPUNCTURE-EFFECT ON NORMAL SUBJECTS

The effect of acupuncture analgesia on pain threshold was assessed in a group of 60 healthy volunteers. On the average a 60% elevation of the pain threshold was achieved. This effect was seen bilaterally with unilateral acupuncture stimulation. There was no significant difference in the effect produced by three widely separate sites of acupuncture stimulation. The possibility of an additive effect when two sites were simultaneously stimulated was not confirmed in our limited study. Evidence is presented that sensory nerve fibre stimulation may be the basic primary requirement of successful acupuncture analgesia.

ACUPUNCTURE IN GASTROSCOPY

The analgesic effect of acupuncture was evaluated by a double-blind controlled trial in 90 patients undergoing gastroscopy. The endoscopy was much easier and better tolerated after real acupuncture had been performed.

The possible role of enkephalin in the mechanism of acupuncture analgesia in man

On the basis of recent research on the presence and function of an endogenous peptide with opiate-like activity present in the brain, and the developing understanding of the physiological mechanism of acupuncture analgesia, it is postulated that the analgesic effects of acupuncture are mediated through the action of this substance on the neural mechanism(s) of pain inhibition.

Comparison of the Effects of Acupuncture and Codeine on Postoperative Dental Pain

The analgesic effects of acupuncture were compared with those of codeine in the treatment of postoperative dental pain in 40 healthy male volunteers 18 to 30 years old. Upon the patient's recovery from local anesthesia (lidocaine), he was asked by a trained observer to classify the intensity of his pain as none, mild, moderate, or severe. He then received one of the following treatments: 1. Placebo: lactose, plus acupuncture placebo 2. Codeine: codeine, plus acupuncture placebo 3. Acupuncture (Ho-Ku): lactose, plus 2 Ho-Ku points 4. Codeine-acupuncture: codeine, plus 2 Ho-Ku points. The pain intensity score was recorded by the observer at half-hour intervals for 3 hours. Patients in treatment groups 2, 3 and 4 showed significantly greater pain relief than those in treatment group 1. For the 1st half hour, there was more pain relief with Ho-Ku alone than with codeine plus Ho-Ko (p less than 0.01). However, for the 2, 2 1/2, and 3-hour periods, codeine plus Ho-Ku produced more pain relief than any of the other treatments.

ACUPUNCTURE–EFFECT ON NORMAL SUBJECTS

The effect of acupuncture analgesia on pain threshold was assessed in a group of 60 healthy volunteers. On the average a 60% elevation of the pain threshold was achieved. This effect was seen bilaterally with unilateral acupuncture stimulation. There was no significant difference in the effect produced by three widely separate sites of acupuncture stimulation. The possibility of an additive effect when two sites were simultaneously stimulated was not confirmed in our limited study. Evidence is presented that sensory nerve fibre stimulation may be the basic primary requirement of successful acupuncture analgesia.

Acupuncture Anesthesia: An Anesthetic Method Combining Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine

Acupuncture anesthesia is a new anesthetic method created by our medical workers by inheriting and developing traditional Chinese acupuncture therapy and combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine. This article reviews the course of development of acupuncture anesthesia, and introduces some of its methods currently in use. More than 80,000 cases of surgical operations have been performed under acupuncture anesthesia in Shanghai district, the data obtained from 10 kinds of operations on a total of 5,414 cases are summarized. Some of our inferences drawn from the clinical application of acupuncture anesthesia and from neurophysiologic studies on the analgesic effect of acupuncture are discussed.

Static Potential Analgesia Applied in Caesarean Sections

Casearean sections performed on two female patients demonstrated "static potential analgesia" which is very similar to acupuncture analgesia in its effects, suggesting that "static potential change" or a mobile ion effect in the body might be responsible for mediation of the analgesic effect of acupuncture.