摘要
OBJECTIVE： It is unknown whether the psoas major muscle, thought to be a key muscle for treatment of lower back pain, can be punctured at Shenshu（BL23）.METHODS： Twelve dissected specimens were used for studying the needling pathway of BL23 by perpendicularly inserting the depth-measuring blade of a vernier caliper at BL23. Dimensions of psoas muscle were measured. Correlation studies were conducted. In addition, our samples were grouped by gender and underlying medical conditions for analysis.RESULTS： Half（50%） of the needle insertions successfully punctured psoas muscle. The mean depth of needle insertion to puncture psoas muscle（D_（min）） in the group with short-term underlying medical conditions was 38.0 mm（interquartile range 29.0–51.8 mm）, approximately 6 mm deeper than 32.0（29.3–42.5） mm in the group with long-term health problems（P = 0.041）. The cross-sectional area（CSA） of psoas muscle in the former group was on average approximately 1.5 times that of the latter group（P = 0.04）. When the data were analysed by gender, the thickness of psoas muscle in the male group was 19.0（6.5–24.0） mm compared to 19.5（5.8–34.8） mm in the female group（P = 0.02）. The age in the female group（P = 0.04） and the body length of the total group（P = 0.04） negatively correlated to D_（min）.CONCLUSION： Needle insertion at BL23 might be able to puncture psoas muscle. Differences in the CSA of psoas muscle and D_（min） were observed in groups with short-term and long-term underlying medical conditions.
OBJECTIVE： It is unknown whether the psoas major muscle, thought to be a key muscle for treatment of lower back pain, can be punctured at Shenshu（BL23）.METHODS： Twelve dissected specimens were used for studying the needling pathway of BL23 by perpendicularly inserting the depth-measuring blade of a vernier caliper at BL23. Dimensions of psoas muscle were measured. Correlation studies were conducted. In addition, our samples were grouped by gender and underlying medical conditions for analysis.RESULTS： Half（50%） of the needle insertions successfully punctured psoas muscle. The mean depth of needle insertion to puncture psoas muscle（D_（min）） in the group with short-term underlying medical conditions was 38.0 mm（interquartile range 29.0–51.8 mm）, approximately 6 mm deeper than 32.0（29.3–42.5） mm in the group with long-term health problems（P = 0.041）. The cross-sectional area（CSA） of psoas muscle in the former group was on average approximately 1.5 times that of the latter group（P = 0.04）. When the data were analysed by gender, the thickness of psoas muscle in the male group was 19.0（6.5–24.0） mm compared to 19.5（5.8–34.8） mm in the female group（P = 0.02）. The age in the female group（P = 0.04） and the body length of the total group（P = 0.04） negatively correlated to D_（min）.CONCLUSION： Needle insertion at BL23 might be able to puncture psoas muscle. Differences in the CSA of psoas muscle and D_（min） were observed in groups with short-term and long-term underlying medical conditions.
