Oxytocin, which is a known player in pain modulation, plays a role in acupuncture analgesia. Acupuncture like tens altens is a treatment modality that can be used to temporarily reduce pain. However, from around 1980, the direction of acupuncture investigations turned from anesthesia to analgesia. These agents not only inhibit respiratory function and cause constipation, but also induce other significant side effects such as addiction and tolerance, all of which further contribute to a reduced quality of life for cancer patients. Acupunctures effects lesion of hypothalamus arcuate nucleus or depletion of pituitary endorphins elimination of acupuncture analgesia wang brain res 1990, cheng life sci 1979 intercollicular decerebration or thoracic cord transection eliminates effect on bladder of stimulating calf nerves mcpherson j phys 1966. Effect of electroacupuncture on substance p, its receptor and. Neurological basis of pain and its possible relationship to. Electroanalgesia is a form of analgesia, or pain relief, that uses electricity to ease pain. Analgesia, loss of sensation of pain that results from an interruption in the nervous system pathway between sense organ and brain. Acupuncture analgesia manual acupuncture or electroacupuncture ea has convincing therapeutic effects in various painful conditions, and these effects could last for a long period of time even hours after acupuncture application being terminated11. In order to better understand the therapeutic effectiveness of acupuncture, questions about the means by which it operates need to be addressed. More broadly, acupuncture is actually a family of different procedures. Resultsneedle acupuncture as well as laser acupuncture at sp 6 has a.
Traditional acupuncture believes that energy called chi flows in the body. Duration of analgesia induced by acupuncturelike tens on. What acupuncture can and cannot treat huisheng xie, dvm, phd carolina ortizumpierre, dvm department of large animal clinical sciences college of veterinary medicine university of florida, gainesville, fl 32610 abstract acupuncture has been used for over 2,000 years to treat a variety of diseases. Their involvement in electroacupuncture analgesia is yet to be investigated. A study into the effect of ea on labor pain management that the application of electro acupuncture at exb2 and sp6 acupoints could be used as a nonpharmacologic method to reduce labor pain and shorten the duration of active phase of labor 1. Acupuncture enhances generation of nitric oxide and. The sedation effect of electroacupuncture on bilateral zusanli st. A more advanced, communicationslevel technology medical device, known as an electroanalgesic medical device ead, appears to be much more potent in its ability to reduce or mitigate acute andor chronic intractable pain conditions than conventional tens technology. Chen xh, han js 1992a all three types of opioid receptors in the spinal cord are important for 215 hz electroacupuncture analgesia. Han department of physiology, beijing medical college, beijing china 83, l.
Electroacupuncture and stimulatory frequencies in analgesia. Recently, this technique has been gaining increased popularity among physicians and patients in the united states. It involves the insertion of thin needles into the skin to stimulate nerves, muscles, and connective tissues throughout the body with the goal of alleviating pain, tension, and stress. Acupuncture is an component of traditional chinese. Bian jt, sun mz, han js 1993 reversal of electroacupuncture tolerance by cck8. Substance p and betaendorphin mediate electroacupuncture. Several studies demonstrate that electroacupuncture inhibits. Hsu pain management center, santa monicaucla medical center and orthopedic hospital, 1245 16th street, suite 225, santa monica, california 90404, usa email. All relevant data are within the paper and its supporting information files. The effectiveness of acupuncture in providing acute analgesia for patients with back pain and ankle sprain was comparable with that of pharmacotherapy. Their electrical acupuncture devices were designed to apply electric current to needles inserted into acupoints. Despite the wide use of acupuncture for the management of visceral pain and the growing interest in the pathophysiology of visceral pain. The role of acupuncture in pain management springerlink.
Simon specialises in the integration of medical acupuncture techniques with manual therapy and therapeutic exercise for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. Recently, increased nitric oxide no synthase activity has been found in meridians and acupoints. Sep 11, 20 acupuncture analgesia has been a common modality for management of acute and chronic pain. Which should i use, milliampere current or microampere current. Electroanalgesic medical device practical pain management. South encyclopedia of life support systems eolss pain has a neuropathic component. Pdf in a previous study on the effect of electroacupuncture ea in combination with a paracervical block pcb as an analgesic method during oocyte. Pdf 5 electroacupuncture and stimulatory frequencies for. Successful practice of electroacupuncture analgesia in. Peripheral mechanisms underlying acupuncture analgesia. Various endogenous substances have been suggested as mediators of the analgesic effects apparently elicited by acupuncture. Analgesic effect of electroacupuncture in a mouse fibromyalgia.
For this purpose, articles referring to the analgesic effect of acupuncture on neuropathic pain and particularly the work performed in our own laboratory were analyzed. Acupuncture is now accepted as a complementary analgesic treatment. Successful practice of electroacupuncture analgesia in equine surgery eldessouky sheta 1, safwat ragab 2, haithem farghali 1, asmaa elsherif 3 1 department of surgery, anesthesiology and radiology, faculty of veterinary medicine, cairo university, cairo, egypt 2 department of anatomy and embryology, faculty of veterinary medicine, cairo. The qi travels through various channels in the body via meridians. Laser acupuncture was applied to both sides with 630 nm and 0,10,2 joule at each point which equals 2040 seconds at 5 mw. We are doing some work to elucidate the possible mechanisms of acupuncture and electroacupuncture analgesia by this. Because no is a key regulator of local circulation, and because change in circulation can. The mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia has been widely investigated, however, the underlying mechanism still not clear. This study examined the effects of needlefree electroacupuncture, at st36 on postoperative pain following hysterectomy. The results suggest that a combination of electroap. Electroacupuncture for pain relief and more bottom line inc.
In japan, hyodo reported 30 cases of acupuncture anesthesia in 1972. What acupuncture can and cannot treat university of florida. Acupuncture is a safe and acceptable form of analgesia, but none of the examined therapies provided optimal acute analgesia. Electroacupuncture and stimulatory frequencies in analgesia, acupuncture concepts and physiology, marcelo saad, intechopen, doi. We summarized that acupuncture enhances the descending inhibitory effect. Central and peripheral mechanism of acupuncture analgesia on. What are the contraindications for electro acupuncture. Acupuncture for analgesia in veterinary medicine sciencedirect. Although it is widely used, the mechanisms and effects of acupuncture on pain are not completely understood. Pain and analgesia ad craig,barrow neurological institute, phoenix, arizona, usa ls sorkin,university of california, san diego, california, usa the accepted definition of pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.
Mechanisms of electroacupunctureinduced analgesia on. Professor jisheng han of beijing university states that when electrodes are placed on the surface of the skin, and when the point of stimulation is selected according to traditional acupuncture, the process is usually called electroacupuncture ea. Since 1970, the mechanism of acupuncture analgesia has been broadly. Many other neuropeptides, mediators, and receptors are possible candidates for acupuncture analgesia and are the subject of further research. Electroacupuncture ea stimulation of these sites results in activation of descend. Acupuncture analgesia is presently considered a way to activate the bodys endogenous analgesic system. Sedation effect of electroacupuncture is not mediated by benzodiazepinesgaba pathway. Electro acupuncture is an acupuncture techniques that applies small electrical currents to needles that have been inserted at an specific acupuncture points. Acupuncture has been used in china and other asian countries for the past 3000 yr. If youre in pain, the last thing you may want is someone sticking needles in you. Electro acupuncture device in clinical practice overview.
Based on a doubleblind, sham, and different intervention controlled clinical experimental design, 47 women were randomly allocated to four different groups. When you have acupuncture, fine needles are put into your skin at specific points. Pdf acupuncture anesthesia and analgesia for clinical. Electroacupuncture ea, involving endogenous opioids and. Oct 21, 2014 in fact, a reduced need for opioidlikemedication in patients with chronic pain after acupuncture treatment has been reported. Thus, in the present study, the effects of electro acupuncture.
Needlefree electroacupuncture for postoperative pain management. Mechanisms of acupunctureelectroacupuncture on persistent pain. The acupuncture analgesic effect has been mediated by descending inhibitory system and endogenous opioid 7. Mechanism of acupuncture analgesia based on animal. In the late 1960s, chinese doctors also started to combine the use of electrical stimulation with acupuncture after some successful experiments with acupuncture anesthesia.
Neurological basis of pain and its possible relationship to acupuncture analgesia. Acupunctureinduced activation of endogenous opioid system. Sims st georges hospital medical school, london, uk summary. Acupuncture analgesia was based on the traditional chinese medicine theory of the balance of yin and yang to regulate the qi energy and blood. Opioid analgesics are generally used to combat the pain associated with cancerous conditions. Numerous studies show that acupuncture stimulation increases experimental pain threshold in various animal species 1,6. Electroacupuncture is a form of acupuncture where a small electric current is passed between pairs of acupuncture needles. The mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia have been widely explored since 1970s.
Electroacupuncture analgesia how is electroacupuncture. Acupuncture is believed to have started in china over 3000 years ago. We studied the effects of acupuncture on local no levels and circulation in a randomized, doubleblind, crossover study with 20 volunteers, each of whom underwent one session each of real and noninvasive sham acupuncture in a single hand and forearm with a 1wk interval between treatments. Jul 29, 2015 a post graduate diploma in medical acupuncture entitles him to accredited membership of the british medical acupuncture society. For moderate pain, weak opioids such as codeine and tramadol are added to nonopioids andor adjuvants, as required. Pstim auricular electroacupuncture stimulation device for pain relief. Acupunctureanalgesiamediated alleviation of central sensitization. Pain pharmacology and analgesia encyclopedia of life. Acupuncture is a traditional chinese practice of medicine that has gained popularity in western culture and around the world. Acupuncture anesthesia has been practiced in china since about 1960. Pdf acupuncture anesthesia and analgesia for clinical acute. These mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia may be involved in the alleviation of. However, there is no clear data in the literature regarding the specific duration of analgesia induced by altens.
The noradrenergic system has also been associated with acupuncture analgesia in experimental studies, where a decreased level of noradrenaline in the brain was observed after acupuncture induced analgesia. But plenty of people turn to acupuncture for pain relief. Effect of acupuncture on neurotransmittersmodulators springerlink. Kain, md, mba paul white, phd, md acupuncture has been used in china and other asian countries for the past 3000 yr. Eapa is defined as electroacupuncture analgesia very rarely. Acupuncture anesthesia and analgesia for clinical acute pain in japan article pdf available in evidencebased complementary and alternative medicine 52. Cheng r, pomeranz b 1979 electroacupuncture analgesia could be mediated by at least two painrelieving mechanisms. Even though acupuncture induced analgesia is being used in many pain management programs in the united states, the mechanism of action remains unclear. In chronic cervical or low back pain, auricular electroacupuncture was. Electrical devices can be internal or external, at the site of pain local or delocalized throughout the whole body. Acupuncture enhances generation of nitric oxide and increase. With traditional acupuncture not using electricity, the practitioner can boost stimulation at a particular acupuncture point by twirling or otherwise manipulating needles. Complementary therapies in medicine 1997 5, 102111 pearson professional ltd 1997 the mechanism of acupuncture analgesia. Pdf electroacupuncture as peroperative analgesic method and.
638 254 995 1091 1313 75 131 1204 974 26 282 652 331 1220 286 671 1579 308 1363 845 133 773 1212 740 525 1034 786 1102 1033 1412 519 183 1239 961 1241 1099 399 725 537 1499