TY - JOUR
T1 - Point injection as an alternative acupuncture technique - An exploratory study of responses in healthy subjects
AU - Strudwick, Mark W
AU - Hinks, Roderick C
AU - Choy, S T Boris
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - INTRODUCTION: Point injection as a therapeutic technique is well documented, but its physiological effects have not been formally compared with traditional acupuncture. One aim of this study was to compare the effects of the two techniques at one acupuncture point, as a step towards understanding the mode of action of point injection and validating its clinical use. A second aim was to explore whether repeated point injection at the same site might provide a way of increasing the dose of stimulation, in the hope of identifying a dose response curve which could be an alternative strategy to placebo control in demonstrating the biological effects of acupuncture. METHODS: Sixty nine healthy subjects (age range 18-56 years, mean 29.9; 48 females) completed the study, which employed a counterbalanced experimental design with two stimulation sessions of LI4 approximately one week apart. One half of the participants received point injection first, and the other half received traditional acupuncture first. Baseline physiological data were recorded, then measurements were made before, during and after stimulation; each subject also reported needle sensation (de qi). The measures were heart rate, derived pressure rate product and mean arterial pressure. RESULTS: Although stronger sensations of de qi were reported with point injection, no significant differences were found for mean heart rate (HR), pressure rate product (PRP) and mean arterial....
AB - INTRODUCTION: Point injection as a therapeutic technique is well documented, but its physiological effects have not been formally compared with traditional acupuncture. One aim of this study was to compare the effects of the two techniques at one acupuncture point, as a step towards understanding the mode of action of point injection and validating its clinical use. A second aim was to explore whether repeated point injection at the same site might provide a way of increasing the dose of stimulation, in the hope of identifying a dose response curve which could be an alternative strategy to placebo control in demonstrating the biological effects of acupuncture. METHODS: Sixty nine healthy subjects (age range 18-56 years, mean 29.9; 48 females) completed the study, which employed a counterbalanced experimental design with two stimulation sessions of LI4 approximately one week apart. One half of the participants received point injection first, and the other half received traditional acupuncture first. Baseline physiological data were recorded, then measurements were made before, during and after stimulation; each subject also reported needle sensation (de qi). The measures were heart rate, derived pressure rate product and mean arterial pressure. RESULTS: Although stronger sensations of de qi were reported with point injection, no significant differences were found for mean heart rate (HR), pressure rate product (PRP) and mean arterial....
UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=18160927
U2 - 10.1136/aim.25.4.166
DO - 10.1136/aim.25.4.166
M3 - Article
VL - 25
SP - 166
EP - 174
JO - Acupuncture in Medicine
JF - Acupuncture in Medicine
SN - 0964-5284
IS - 4
ER -