Acupuncture Analgesia in Migraine

There is no curative treatment for migraine, although there does exist various options for pharmacological treatment.Drug treatment withβ-adrenoceptor blockers,calcium antagonists,or other agents has been shown to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks;however,the success of treatment is usually modest.Acupuncture has been increasingly used as adjunctive treatment in primary headache syndromes and there is growing evidences from clinical trials that it might be beneficial in the treatment of migraine,w...

Efficacy of acupuncture on acute tonsillitis:a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE To systematically assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in treating acute tonsillitis,providing a reference for clinical decision-making.METHODS We searched PubMed,CENTRAL,Embase,Web of Science,China National Knowledge Infrastruc⁃ture,China Biomedical,clinical research registra⁃tion platforms,grey literature,and the reference lists of the selected studies from inception to Oct.30,2022.The risk of bias assessment used Rev⁃Man.Meta-analysis was performed using STATA with Hedges′g value.In addition,we performed subgroup analysis,meta-regression,and publica⁃tion bias detection with Harbord′s and Egger′s tests.RESULTS We included 19 randomized controlled trials comprising 1701 patients,of which 1 study was assessed high risk of bias.The primary outcome,the response rate,revealed that acupuncture was more effective than antibi⁃otics.The secondary outcomes showed that the difference in the reduction of the VAS scores,sore throat time,and white blood cell counts was statistically significant with acupuncture compared to antibiotics.However,the difference in modulat⁃ing neutrophil percentage and C-reactive protein was not statistically significant.Besides,acupuncture treatments showed a lower incidence of adverse events than antibiotics.CONCLUSION Acupuncture therapy on acute tonsillitis is safe,and the response rate is superior to antibiotics.For alleviating sore throat symptoms,shortening sore throat time,and improving immune in fl am mation index,acupuncture has positive signi fi cance.Nevertheless,because of the limitations of this study,our conclusions should be inter⁃preted with caution.Future efforts still need more high-quality trials to improve the methodology and reporting quality.

Clinical study of acupuncture combined with surface anesthesia using proparacaine in geriatric cataract phacoemulsification

BACKGROUND During anesthesia administration for cataract surgery,low pH of proparacaine may induce pain or complications such as corneal damage and poor wound healing,with the use of additional drops intraoperatively increasing the risk of complications.Accordingly,there is a clinical need for adjuncts to local anesthesia needs to improve the efficiency of anesthesia and reduce the required amount of intraoperative proparacaine.AIM To identify a method of anesthesia for geriatric cataract phacoemulsification that provides more efficient analgesia and improves clinical efficacy.METHODS A total of 130 geriatric patients with cataracts who attended Hebei Eye Hospital from December 2020 to December 2022 were included in the present study.Patients were divided into the proparacaine surface anesthesia(SA)group(65 cases)and the compound acupuncture-medicine anesthesia group(CAMA group,65 cases).Patients in the CAMA group were provided acupuncture analgesia in addition to SA.Preoperative anxiety[Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS)score and state anxiety inventory(SAI)score],intraoperative stress,vital signs,analgesia,and cooperation,as well as postoperative adverse events,were compared between groups.RESULTS More marked reductions in anxiety were observed among patients in the CAMA group,with corresponding reductions in SAS and SAI scores.During the operation,no change in the secretion of E,NE,or Cor group compared to the preoperative period was observed in the CAMA,which was markedly lower than that in the SA group.Heart rate,blood pressure,and respiratory rate were more stable intraoperatively in the CAMA group.In addition,the incidence of intraoperative pain and the number of additional doses of anesthesia required in the CAMA group were markedly lower than in the SA group.Accordingly,patients in the CAMA group were able to avoid eye movements and eyelid closing leading to greater cooperation with surgeons during surgery.Furthermore,marked reductions in intraoperative adverse effects were observed in the CAMA group,indicating greater overall safety.CONCLUSION Proparacaine SA combined with acupuncture as an analgesic provides improved analgesia with greater safety compared to surface anesthesia with proparacaine during geriatric cataract phacoemulsification.

WRIST-ANKLE ACUPUNCTURE FOR ANALGESIA IN TREATING SOME COMMON DISEASES IN ATHLETES

With gradual generalization of acupuncture-moxibustion therapy in developed countries, an increasing attention has been paid to its application in the athletic field. Wrist-ankle acupuncture is a kind of shallow acupuncture, by which 6 points in the wrist and ankle regions are selected and punctured for treating diseases related to individual parts of the body. It is a kind of information therapy concerning biological hologram regularities. The analgesic effects of the therapy in treating some common diseases in 64 athletes are reported as follows.

Clinical research progress of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by ankylosis of the spine and sacroiliac joints.The continuous development of this disease can cause damage to multiple organs.At present,modern medical treatment programs generally focus on symptomatic treatment such as analgesia and anti-inflammatory,which can relieve pain and inflammation to a certain extent,but there are many problems such as adverse drug reactions,and cannot be completely cured.Modern medical treatment of ankylosing spondylitis focuses on relieving symptoms,controlling disease activity,slowing disease progression,and reducing disability rates.As an important part of traditional Chinese medicine,acupuncture therapy,compared with modern medicine,has obvious advantages in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis,such as good curative effect,quick effect,safety and low price,and no toxic and side effects.By reviewing the literature,it is found that there are a large number of clinical studies on the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis by acupuncture and moxibustion in recent years,and it is concluded that acupuncture and moxibustion has unique advantages in reducing local pain,alleviating inflammatory symptoms,improving joint function,preventing spinal deformity,and improving quality of life.Therefore,this study summarizes and reviews the relevant literature on different acupuncture and moxibustion therapy for ankylosing spondylitis,in order to provide ideas and solutions for the effective treatment of this disease.

Acupuncture Mechanisms: Anesthesia, Analgesia and Protection on Organ Functions

Acupuncture, as a healing art in traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used to treat various diseases. In the history of acupuncture anesthesia, in the past decades, mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia has been widely investigated, and in recent years, acupuncture protection on organ functions has attracted great interest. This review summarized the research progress on mechanisms of acupuncture for analgesia and its protection against organ function injury in anesthesia, and its perspective of analgesia, immunomodulation, neuroendocrine regulation and multiple organ protection. The current evidence supports that acupuncture analgesia and its organ protection in anesthesia is associated with the integration of neuroendocrine-immune networks in the level of neurotransmitters, cytokines, hormones, neuronal ensembles,lymphocytes, and endocrine cells. Although the mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia and its organ protection are still not completely understood, basic as well as clinic researches on the mechanisms and applications of acupuncture and related techniques are being carried out.

Using a consensus acupoints regimen to explore the relationship between acupuncture sensation and lumbar spinal postoperative analgesia: A retrospective analysis of prospective clinical cooperation

Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment on postoperative pain in patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease, and explored the relationship between the postoperative analgesic effect of acupuncture and the sensation of acupuncture experienced by the patients.Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the medical records of 97 patients who had undergone an operation by the same surgeon due to degenerative lumbar disease. These patients were divided into acupuncture group(n = 32), patient-controlled analgesia(PCA) group(n = 27), and oral analgesia group(n = 38) according to the different postoperative analgesic methods. During their hospitalization, patients completed daily evaluations of their pain using a visual analogue scale(VAS), and injection times of supplemental meperidine were recorded. Also, the Chinese version of the Massachusetts General Hospital Acupuncture Sensation Scale(C-MASS) was used in the acupuncture group.Results: Each of the three treatment groups showed significant reductions in postoperative pain, as shown by reduced VAS scores. The acupuncture group, however, had less rebound pain(P < 0.05) than the other two groups. Both the acupuncture and PCA groups experienced acute analgesic effects that were superior to those in the oral analgesia group. In addition, the higher the C-MASS index on the second day after surgery, the lower the VAS score on the fourth day after surgery. There was also a significant difference in the“dull pain” in the acupuncture sensation.Conclusion: The results demonstrated that acupuncture was beneficial for postoperative pain and discomfort after simple surgery for degenerative spinal disease. It is worth noting that there was a disproportionate relevance between the patient’s acupuncture sensation and the improvement of pain VAS score.

Rapid acupuncture for musculoskeletal pain in the emergency room of the Hospital Servidor Publico Estadual, Brazil: A quasi-experimental study

Objective:To compare differences in self-reported musculoskeletal pain before and after receiving rapid acupuncture for pain at an outpatient emergency department.Methods:Exactly 102 patients presenting to the emergency room of the Hospital Servidor Publico Estadual in Sao Paulo,Brazil,participated in this before-and-after study.All participants had musculoskeletal pain and were treated with the technique proposed by Marques Filho.This emergency acupuncture involved inserting a needle at a point defined by traditional Chinese medicine and applying intense stimulation for 10 s;no more than two points were used on any individual patient.Pain was measured using a numerical visual scale before and immediately after the procedure.Results:Participants in this study were mostly women(78%),had a college degree(47%)and were below the age of 60(56%).The most common region of pain was the lower back(31%),and the most common type of pain was acute and exacerbated chronic pain.The meridians most commonly involved were the eight extra meridians(40%),and the points most often used for treatment were Houxi(SI3),Shenmai(BL62)and Zulinqi(GB41).Almost all participants reported a decrease in pain intensity,independent of sex,education level,pain site and pain type(acute/chronic;P<0.05).At the end of the session,only4%of the participants reported a desire for allopathic medication.Conclusion:This emergency acupuncture technique for analgesia appears to reduce musculoskeletal pain.Trial registration:Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials(http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/)with No.RBR-8 dmfjf.

经络系统与针刺效应机制的科学评价

Objective:To search all available sources to find incontrovertible scientific explanation of the meridian system and mechanism of acupuncture action.Methods:Extensive search of electronic databases was carried out to identify all published scientific articles,research papers and experimental findings regarding meridian system,acupuncture points and mechanisms of acupuncture action,from both English and Chinese language journals,from inception till date.Results:There are many hypotheses and studies about meridian system such as,primovascular system as meridian,nuclear tracers study to locate the track of meridian,infrared imaging studies to prove existence of meridians,investigations about anatomical structure of acupoints,etc.There are many researches and theories about mechanism of acupuncture action such as gate control theory of acupuncture analgesia,neurotransmitters,neuro-endocrine-immune network,fMRI evidences of brain’s processing of pain signal etc.Conclusion:Researchers over half a century discovered many factual information about meridian system,acupoints,neuro-transmitters and acupuncture analgesia,neuro-hormonal mechanism etc.All these important discoveries contributed to clarify the mysteries of meridian system and acupuncture action,but they still fell short of providing an incontrovertible scientific explanation.Further coordinated studies are warranted to explore more plausible and scientifically valid explanation of meridian system and acupuncture action.