PMID- 36525354
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20230215
LR  - 20230215
IS  - 1078-6791 (Print)
IS  - 1078-6791 (Linking)
VI  - 29
IP  - 2
DP  - 2023 Mar
TI  - Systemic Analgesic Effects of Electroacupuncture in Healthy Individuals: Thermal 
      Threshhold, Acupuncture Sensation Intensity and De-qi on Quantitative Sensory 
      Test.
PG  - 50-57
LID - AT7804 [pii]
AB  - BACKGROUND: Electroacupuncture (EA) has been known to exert analgesic effects 
      according to several reports, but studies investigating the analgesic effect of 
      EA using the quantitative sensory test (QST) are rare. PRIMARY STUDY OBJECTIVE: 
      To investigate the analgesic effects of electroacupuncture through changes in 
      thermal thresholds measured using the QST. DESIGN: Pilot, randomized, 
      single-blind, parallel design. SETTING: The study was conducted at Dongguk 
      University Bundang Oriental Hospital (DUBOH) in South Korea. PARTICIPANTS: We 
      included 40 healthy participants age 20 to 40 years. INTERVENTION: The EA group 
      received EA for 30 minutes at 6 acupuncture points (LI4, PC6, LI10, LI11, ST36, 
      and SP6) and the control group just rested. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome 
      measure was 4 thermal thresholds including warm detection (WDT), cold detection 
      (CDT), hot pain (HPT), and cold pain (CPT) measured using QST at baseline and 
      after 15, 30 and 60 minutes. The secondary outcomes were the intensity of 
      acupuncture sensation (visual analogue scale [VAS]) and De-qi (Massachusetts 
      General Hospital Acupuncture Sensation Scale [MASS]). RESULTS: The EA group 
      showed significant changes in HPT (P < .001) and CPT (P = .049) compared with the 
      control group, whereas WDT and CDT did not significantly differ. Furthermore, the 
      changes in thermal thresholds were more pronounced in the higher intensity 
      acupuncture sensation group (VAS >/=40) than in the lower intensity group (VAS < 
      40), although not significantly. The high De-qi group presented greater changes 
      in WDT, CDT, HPT and CPT than the low De-qi group, as measured using MASS. It was 
      especially statistically significant at HPT a feeling of "heaviness" and "dull 
      pain" and at CDT of "tingling." We observed no adverse events related to the 
      study. CONCLUSION: The change in thermal pain thresholds effected by EA supports 
      the analgesic effect of EA reported in previous studies. The underlying 
      mechanisms need to be holistically considered, and further studies are needed for 
      definitive evidence.
FAU - Sung, Won-Suk
AU  - Sung WS
FAU - Moon, Jeong-Hyun
AU  - Moon JH
FAU - Choi, Seong-Kyeong
AU  - Choi SK
FAU - Jo, Hyo-Rim
AU  - Jo HR
FAU - Kim, Hye-Ryeon
AU  - Kim HR
FAU - Lim, Chi-Yeon
AU  - Lim CY
FAU - Seo, Byung-Kwan
AU  - Seo BK
FAU - Lee, Seung-Deok
AU  - Lee SD
FAU - Kim, Eun-Jung
AU  - Kim EJ
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - Altern Ther Health Med
JT  - Alternative therapies in health and medicine
JID - 9502013
RN  - 0 (Analgesics)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Humans
MH  - Young Adult
MH  - Acupuncture Points
MH  - Analgesics
MH  - *Electroacupuncture
MH  - Pain
MH  - Single-Blind Method
EDAT- 2022/12/17 06:00
MHDA- 2023/02/15 06:00
CRDT- 2022/12/16 12:43
PHST- 2022/12/17 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2023/02/15 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2022/12/16 12:43 [entrez]
AID - AT7804 [pii]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Altern Ther Health Med. 2023 Mar;29(2):50-57.