Effect of different twirling and rotating acupuncture manipulation techniques on the blood flow perfusion at acupoints

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of different twirling and rotating acupuncture manipulation techniques on the blood flow perfusion at acupoints to provide a reference for the study of acupoint specificity and the quantification and effectiveness of acupuncture methods. METHODS: Twenty healthy male or female college students each received four different acupuncture manipulation techniques, including simple acupuncture, uniform reinforcing-reducing needling, twirling reinforcing needling, and twisting reducing needling. The self-control method was applied. Acupuncture was performed by an acupuncture manipulation simulator at Neiguan (PC 6) and Zusanli (ST 36). The process of twirling and rotating was divided into seven timepoints. The PeriCam Perfusion Speckle Imager (PSI) System was used to collect the blood flow perfusion data at each acupoint. The specificity of twirling and rotating acupuncture manipulation was analyzed based on changes in the curve, video, and numerical blood flow perfusion data at each timepoint. RESULTS: There were two peaks in the blood flow perfusion curve of twirling and rotating acupuncture manipulation;one appeared after 3 min of needle retention, and the other appeared 3 min after needle removal. The blood flow perfusion parameters showed that the greatest differences between the four manipulation techniques occurred after 5 and 10 min of needle retention. The specificity of various manipulation techniques was most obvious at these two timepoints. There were significant differences between the four manipulation groups in the blood flow perfusion and the relative change rates of blood flow perfusion at each timepoint. CONCLUSION: Laser speckle imaging enables the real-time, non-invasive, rapid, and accurate collection of blood flow perfusion data during acupuncture. This imaging technique enables the easy attainment of various parameters such as visual images, two-dimensional curves, and data tables. At various timepoints, the four groups significantly differed regarding changes in blood flow perfusion and relative change rates of blood flow perfusion, which facilitated the differentiation of the four acupuncture manipulation methods. Based on this, further analysis could be conducted to study spatial distribution characteristics such as the influence area and flare area. The frequency domain analysis of acupuncture manipulation curves is important in the study of the dose-effect relationship and specificity of acupuncture manipulation.