Study on thermographic change of DITI by acupuncture on sakwan point

사관혈(四關穴)자침이 체열변화에 미치는 영향

Objective: Hapkok(L14) and Taechung(Liv3) are acupuncture points located on both sides of each foot and hand of the human body. These two points are called sakwan points. Matching these acupuncture points have a significant reason in pints of not only regulating the circulation of Yin-Yang as a source point of each meridian, but also playing a basic role of twelve meridian by controlling circulation of ki and blood in the whole body. There are already related documents and studies on stimulating sakwan points. Since those papers mostly studied on either hapkook or taechung, we came to have a doubt of stimulation the two point at the same time when an unbalance of Yin-Yang and ki-blood appears. Accordingly, we got to investigate how thermogram of body changes after applying an acupuncture on sakwan points. Our study is as follows ; Method : Our study was performed on 30 normal cases(M:F=17:13) with no past history to observe the effects of the acupuncture. We measured temperature of abdomen and the back of both hands by D.I.T.I(Digital infrared Thermographic Imaging) before and after acupuncture on sakwan points. Results and Conclusions: The thermographic change on abdomen was $0.51{\pm}0.71^{\circ}C$. Temperature of abdomen after acupuncture was higher than before acupuncture with high validity(p<0.01). And the thermographic changes on the back of both hands were right hand $0.54{\pm}1.17^{\circ}C$, left hand $0.56{\pm}1.28^{\circ}C$. Temperature on the back of both hands after acupuncture was higher than before acupuncture, but the difference between them had little validity(p<0.01). In addition, we found that it doesn't necessarily follow that the thermographic changes on abdomen and back of both hands after acupuncture on sakwan points happen concurrently.