Traditional Acupoints Research Articles

Acupuncture effects on reflex responses to mental stress in humans.

In animal studies, acupuncture has been shown to be sympathoinhibitory, but it is unknown if acupuncture is sympathoinhibitory in humans. Nineteen healthy volunteers underwent mental stress testing pre- and postacupuncture. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), blood pressure, and heart rate during mental stress were compared pre- and postacupuncture. Control acupuncture consisted of acupuncture at nonacupoints and "no-needle" acupuncture. Acupuncture had no effect on resting MSNA, blood pressure, or heart rate. After real acupuncture, the increase in mean arterial pressure (pre- vs. postacupuncture 4.5 vs. 1.7 mmHg, P < 0.001), but not MSNA or heart rate, was blunted during mental stress. Similarly, following nonacupoint acupuncture, the increase in mean arterial pressure was blunted during mental stress (5.4 vs. 2.9 mmHg, P < 0.0003). No-needle acupuncture had no effect on these variables. In conclusion, acupuncture at traditional acupoints, nonacupoints, and no-needle acupuncture does not modulate baseline MSNA or MSNA responses to mental stress in normal humans. Acupuncture significantly attenuates the increase in blood pressure during mental stress. Needling nonacupoints, but not "no-needle" acupuncture, have a similar effect on blood pressure.

Cardiovascular beneficial effects of electroacupuncture at Neiguan (PC-6) acupoint in anesthetized open-chest dog.

Neiguan (PC-6) is a traditional acupoint in the bilateral forearms, overlying the median nerve trunk. Neiguan electroacupuncture (EA) has been believed to affect cardiovascular function and used in traditional Chinese medicine to improve or treat a wide range of health conditions and diseases, including angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, hypertension, and hypotension. However, few physiological studies have assessed the beneficial effects of Neiguan EA on the cardiovascular function. In the present study, we investigated its effects on the cardiovascular function in normal open-chest dogs under pentobarbital and fentanyl anesthesia. We also obtained left ventricular (LV) pressure-volume (P-V) data with a micromanometer catheter and a volumetric conductance catheter. Mean arterial pressure, end-diastolic volume, heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, and end-systolic pressure gradually decreased by 5 to 10% over 1.5 h without Neiguan EA. Neiguan EA at 40 Hz, however, increased these cardiovascular variables by 10 to 15%, especially end-systolic elastance (Ees) by 40% (p<0.05) over 15 to 60 min. After Neiguan EA was stopped at 1 h, these facilitated cardiovascular variables decreased below the pre-EA level. This beneficial effect of electroacupuncture may contribute to the effectiveness of the acupuncture in Chinese medicine.

The origins of acupuncture channel imbalance in pain of the equine hindlimb

Summary Objective: A study was conducted to define the relationship between oriental channel imbalance and pain of the equine hindlimb. Methods: One hundred eighty-five lame and muscle sore horses from a general equine practice in Virginia were examined by a single observer using traditional manual palpation of the acupuncture channels. The six hindlimb channels were evaluated and graded with particular emphasis on the reactivity of three transpositional acupoints, BL 18, BL 19, BL 20, and five traditional veterinary acupoints Yao Zhong, Shen Shu, Xie Qi, Feng Men, and Fu Tu. All lame patients were evaluated with western methods to establish an anatomical diagnosis. All nonlame horses with channel imbalance were treated with either an intra-articular anesthetic, an intra-articular cortisone, methylprednisolone acetate, or a hyaluronate and triamcinalone combination. The medications were injected into either the three compartments of the stifle joint, tarso-metatarsal and distal inter-tarsal joints, metatarsophalangeal joint, or the distal interphalangeal joint The joint injections were conducted in sequence, distal to proximal, until a definitive change in channel imbalance had occurred. Chi Square analysis was used to assess different frequencies of channel imbalance and the sites responsible for that imbalance, with P Results: Channel imbalance was only indirectly associated with extra-articular pathology. Intra-articular structures of three joints of the distal hindlimb, the distal tarsus, metatarsophalangeal, and distal interphalangeal, accounted for all the observed abnormal, referred diagnostic acupoints. In the examined population, channel imbalance was significantly more frequently related to the distal tarsus than the hind fetlock, and both of these were significantly more frequently involved than the distal interphalangeal joint. Channel imbalance relating to the dorsal aspect of the digit was significantly more frequent in metatarsophalangeal lameness than in distal tarsal lameness. Neither the stifle nor midback pain was directly associated with projected, as opposed to local, channel imbalance. If projected channel imbalance could be defined as the presence of reactive acupoints not in the immediate vicinity of the local site of pain, then the projected acupoints detected in stifle lameness or back pain were associated with the tarsus or the hind fetlock. Conclusions: The sites of hindlimb pathology resulting in channel imbalance were intra-articular, and they were located within the distal tarsal, the metatarsophalangeal and the distal interphalangeal joints. Channel diagnosis reflected intra-articular inflammation of only these three joints, and further diagnostic procedures were required to establish a definitive western diagnosis. The presence of channel imbalance should be used to determine pattern differentiation in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Oral Acupuncture

The oral mucosa offers non traditional acupoints, forming an acupuncture microsystem that may be used for treatment of disease throughout the body. Through palpation of tender spots this system can be an aid to diagnosis, or by injection of tiny volumes of normal saline or local anaesthetic it can be used as an effective treatment. Oral acupuncture has been clinically tested over a period of 25 years and has proved effective for a variety of diseases. Additionally, relationships with internal organs and body acupoints have been demonstrated.