Can Traditional Breathing Methods Reduce Stress?

Purpose: Traditional medicines have unique breathing methods and they are widely believed that they are good for health promotion and good for relax. However, there is little evidence. The purpose of this study is to discuss if such specific breathings could effectively reduce stress and be able to help to reach a relaxed state in the body as well as in the mind. To objectively understand the state of stress/relax, we assessed the condition of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) as well as heart rate (HR) and body temperature (BT), which instantly reflect ANS. Methods: Fourteen healthy male volunteers participated in this study and we investigated four kinds of breathing with them: Natural breathing (Control), Abdominal Pressure breathing (Pressure), Abdominal breathing (Abdominal) and Reverse Abdominal breathing (Reverse). Results: Only Control group showed increase of HF/decrease of HR, showing increase parasympathetic nervous system, which indicates the condition of relax. On the hand, all experimental groups of unique breathings showed increase of sympathetic nervous system, meaning stress. Discussion: Our hypothesis was that traditional breathing methods would decrease stress, however, our results were the total opposite to it. This reason might be found: 1) our subjects might be too young and naive, 2) they did not have enough training or experience, and 3) enough and appropriate duration of breathings was needed. Therefore, we consider that appropriate program and enough training time to use to specific breathing are needed to obtain the effects of traditional breathing.

Effects of acupuncture treatment on natural killer cell activity,pulse rate,and pain reduction for older adults:an uncontrolled,observational study

OBJECTIVE： The aim of this study was to examine the changes in natural killer （NK） cell activity, pulse rate, and pain intensity among older adults before and after acupuncture treatment. METHODS： Fifty-six individuals （16 males and 40 females）, aged 60 to 82 years （mean age 72.4 ＋ 5.0）, who were experiencing pain in the shoulder, low back, or knee, participated in the study. NK cell activity, leukocyte differentiation （granulocytes and lymphocytes）, pulse rate, and blood pressure values were obtained. Pain intensity was evaluated by using the visual analog scale （VAS）. The Wilcoxon test was used to analyze NK cell activity, leukocytes （granulocyte counts and granulocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio）, and the VAS score in accordance with the location of pain complaints before and after acupuncture treatment. RESULTS： NK cell activity decreased after acupuncture treatment for pain in the shoulder-pain and knee-pain groups. Further, the lymphocyte and granulocyte counts increased after acupuncture treatment for the shoulder-pain group. Pulse rate decreased for the shoulder-pain, low-back- pain, and knee-pain groups after acupuncture treatment. The VAS score decreased after acupuncture treatment for the shoulder-pain, low-back-pain, and knee-pain groups. CONCLUSION： This study showed that in older adults, acupuncture treatment decreases pulse rate, relieves pain in the shoulder, low back, and knee, and reduces NK-cell activity.

Difference between the effects of one-site and three-site abdominal hot-stone stimulation on the skin-temperature changes of the lower limbs

To determine whether any difference exists in the skin-temperature responses of the lower limbs to hot-stone application relative to one-site and three-site abdominal application. METHODS： Twenty-five female students participated in experimental sessions after a random allocation： 14 participants received a hot-stone application on the umbilicus, superior-umbilicus, and inferior-umbilicus regions （hereafter referred to as the three-site stimulation group）; and 11 participants received the hot-stone application on the umbilicus region only （hereafter referred to as the one-site stimulation group）. Heated stones were applied for 9 min to participants in both groups. Four arbitrary frames （the lower leg, ankle, proximal foot, and distal foot regions） were created in order to observe and analyze the skin temperature of a lower limb using a thermograph. Observation periods were as follows： before hot-stone stimulation, immediately after stimulation, and 5, 10, 15, and 20 min after stimulation. RESULTS： There was a significant offset interaction of distal foot skin temperature between the groups. The left-side distal foot skin temperature increased at 15 and 20 min following the three-site abdominal hot-stone stimulation. The right-side distal foot skin temperature increased immediately and at 5, 10, 15, and 20 min following the three-site abdominal hot-stone stimulation. No significant change in distal foot skin temperature was observed following the one-site stimulation. CONCLUSION： Lower-limb skin temperature was altered following hot-stone stimulation applied to the abdomen, and the one-site stimulation and three-site stimulation yielded different distal foot skin-temperature reactions.

The Effects of Anma (Traditional Japanese Massage)—Randomised Trial

Background and Objective: Anma is a traditional Japanese bodywork therapy that has not been widely known and used in the West. There have been only a few Anma studies published in English journals. To study the effect of Anma (traditional Japanese massage) among participants who have neck and shoulder stiffness symptoms (so-called Katakori, in Japanese). Methods: The study participants consisted of seventy-seven (Study 1), thirteen (Study 2), and twenty (Study 3) adults with “Katakori” symptoms. The research design is as follows: (Study1) Randomized, Parallel-Group, Controlled Trial. (Study 2) Crossover Clinical Trial. (Study 3) Randomized, Parallel-Group, Controlled Trial. And we conducted Anma treatment for 45 minutes (Treatment) or rest in lying position for 45 minutes (Control). Results: In study 1, the symptom of “Katakori” was relieved after Anma treatment in Anma group (p d: 2.2). There was a significant interaction between the Anma group and the control group (p < 0.001). In study 2, MBV significantly increased following Anma treatment. There was a significant interaction between the Anma group and the control group (p = 0.022). In study 3, the symptom of “Katakori” was relieved after Anma treatment in the treatment group. There were no significant interactions between the groups in VAS and MBV values. Discussion and Conclusions: The study demonstrated that Anma therapy decreases “Katakori” symptoms while increasing MBV in the shoulder region.

Evaluating Training Programs for Electroacupuncture Techniques with Skin Temperature as a New Index

Training in acupuncture techniques has a long history of thousands of years. It has been individually handed down from person (teacher) to person (student). However, techniques and training have not been scientifically evaluated because individual differences may exist among evaluators. In animal studies, some researchers have reported that acupuncture stimulation dilates blood vessels of the skin and skeletal muscles. These studies also reveal an association between skin temperature (ST) and blood circulation volume on the skin. Our previous studies have reported that acupuncture stimulation, especially that of electroacupuncture (EA), can elevate ST. Therefore, we monitored the instructive effects and level of EA techniques with ST and propose that we can bring monitoring ST into training/education of EA as a new index of technical assessment. Moreover, ratio of changes might be used as new criteria for retraining. Healthy students (n = 14) were given with 10 minutes of EA stimulation on the tibialis anterior: Zusanli (ST36) and Tiaokou (ST38). Their ST was monitored before and during stimulation as well as for 30 minutes after stimulation. All subjects showed a nominal increase in ST. At the time, ratios of changes were also calculated. Two subjects did not reach the average of 1.3%. This suggests that the technical level of the therapist was inadequate. Thus, observation of ST elevation and calculation of the average ratio of ST change (elevation) could be applied to a new scientific index of technical assessment in acupuncture treatment training. However, further research (e.g., larger-scale studies, adjustment for gender differences, or other age subjects) is required to support these findings.

Physiological and Psychological Effects of Scent of Soil on Human Beings

This study examines heart rate and heart rate fluctuation when subjects are presented with the scent of soil and their psychological changes as expressed by scores of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) as indexes. In the experiment, we directed the subjects to rest in a sitting position for 5 min. (Pre.), to smell the scent for 1 min. (No Stim., Stim.), and to rest in a sitting position for 15 min. (Post 5, Post 10, Post 15). Psychological evaluation was performed before and after the experiment (Pre., Post). The scent stimulation was made by opening/closing a bottle with screw-on cap that contained the soil. In the control group, the bottle is always closed. In the stimulus group, the bottle was opened only at the time of Stim. For the physiological evaluation, although we could observe no change in the control group, in the stimulation group, the subjects’ heart rates decreased at Stim. and Post 15. For the psychological evaluation, VAS scores of “Feel relaxed” and “Feel soothed” increased and POMS scores of “Strain-Uneasiness”, “Anger-Hostility”, and “Confusion” decreased. In open-ended questions, some of the subjects recalled memories of insect-collecting, horticulture, forests and parks. There was a negative correlation between heart rate decrease (Stim.) and increase in the VAS scores of “Feel relaxed” (r = -0.896, p < 0.001) and “Feel soothed” (r = -0.684, p = 0.014). The healing effects from the scent of soil included subjects’ memories that were considered to have influenced the heart rate.