Journal of acupuncture and meridian studies
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J Acupunct Meridian Stud · Oct 2018
Randomized Controlled TrialTranscutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation at the Acupuncture Points to Relieve Pain of Patients Under Mechanical Ventilation: A Randomized Controlled Study.
Electrical stimulation and acupuncture points as nonpharmacological methods have been the focus of pain reduction in different patients. This study is aimed at determining the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on the acupuncture points of pain in patients under mechanical ventilators. ⋯ The results showed that the use of TENS on acupuncture points can decrease the level of pain and opioid consumption in intubated patients under a mechanical ventilator.
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J Acupunct Meridian Stud · Dec 2017
Being Adaptive to Pain Enhances Sham Acupuncture Analgesia: A Crossover Healthy Human Study.
We have reported a model that distinguishes pain adaptive individuals (PA) from those who are pain non-adaptive (PNA). The present randomised, cross-over, participant-assessor blinded study aimed to determine the impact of pain adaptability on individuals' response to real and sham acupuncture. Healthy volunteers (nine PA and 13 PNA) were randomly allocated to receive real and sham acupuncture on the left hand and forearm in two separate acupuncture sessions. ⋯ PNA reported little changes in PPT. Being adaptive to pain was associated with enhanced distant analgesia in response to sham acupuncture. Our finding might partly explain varied acupuncture analgesia in clinical practice and trials.
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J Acupunct Meridian Stud · Jun 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialCardiovascular Response to Manual Acupuncture Needle Stimulation among Apparently Healthy Nigerian Adults.
This study investigated experience with acupuncture needle stimulation of apparently healthy adult Nigerians and the responses of the systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and rate pressure products (RPP) to acupuncture at both real acupuncture points relevant to the treatment of cardiovascular disorder and sham acupuncture points not relevant to the treatment of cardiovascular disorder. Seventy-eight participants were randomly placed into three groups: the real acupuncture group (RAG); the sham acupuncture group (SAG); and the control group, with 26 participants per group. Data were collected preintervention, 15 minutes into acupuncture stimulation, postintervention, and 15 minutes after intervention. ⋯ Changes in the DBP showed a significant difference between the SAG and the RAG (p > 0.05). Findings from this study showed that among apparently healthy Nigerian adults, acupuncture needle stimulation at acupoints relevant to cardiovascular disorders was more effective than sham intervention in reducing the SBP, HR, and RPP. Participants reported heaviness, numbness, and increasing pain, but no dizziness, fainting and/or life-threatening side effects, during and after the acupuncture needle stimulation.
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J Acupunct Meridian Stud · Oct 2015
Review Meta AnalysisAs Acupressure Decreases Pain, Acupuncture May Improve Some Aspects of Quality of Life for Women with Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.
Primary dysmenorrhea is the most common gynecological symptom reported by women and constitutes a high health, social, and economic burden. Chemotherapies, along with their side effects, have not yielded satisfactory outcomes. Alternative nonpharmacological interventions, including acupuncture and acupressure, have been advocated, but evidence regarding their beneficial effect is inconclusive. ⋯ The systematic review showed moderate methodological quality with a mean of 6.1 out of 10 on the PEDro quality scale. Acupressure showed evidence of pain relief while acupuncture improved both the mental and the physical components of quality of life. In conclusion, physiotherapists should consider using acupuncture and acupressure to treat primary dysmenorrhea, but a need exists for higher quality, randomized, blinded, sham-controlled trials with adequate sample sizes to establish clearly the effects of these modalities.
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J Acupunct Meridian Stud · Oct 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialEfficacies of Acupuncture and Anti-inflammatory Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
This study compared the efficacies of acupuncture and anti-inflammatory treatment in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Fifty patients with mild to moderate CTS were randomly divided into two groups. Both groups received night wrist splints as the standard conservative treatment for 1 month. ⋯ At the final follow up, significant improvements were found in both groups (p < 0.05). Statistically significant improvements were observed in the VAS score, the score on the global BCTQ FUNCT and SYMPT, and the electrodiagnostic findings, but not in the distal motor latency (DML), in the acupuncture group (p < 0.05). Our findings indicate that acupuncture affected the score on the global BCTQ FUNCT and SYMPT, the VAS score, and the electrodiagnostic findings, except the DML, more than ibuprofen did and that acupuncture might be an effective treatment for CTS.