• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of hand acupuncture on relieving of abdominal pain. Method: Fifty-five middle school students who complained abdominal pain were selected as subjects. There were 35 students in the experimental group while 20 students were in the control group. Convenience assignment was used. The experimental group received hand acupuncture treatment which was to puncture corresponding points (epigastric pain A8, A12, A16, K9, F4, E42; lower abdominal pain A1, A4, A6, A8, J1, H2) on both the palm and the back of a hand with disposable acupuncture needles, and then to remove them after a 20-30min. recess during the subjects was in supine position on a bed. Result: Degree of subjective pain decreased statistically in the experimental as compared to the control group. No statistical significant differences were found in objective pain and comfort between experimental and control group. Conclusion: These findings indicate that hand acupuncture is an effective method for reducing abdominal pain. Therefore, hand acupuncture could be considered as an independent nursing intervention for abdominal pain reduction.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2015

Objectives : The present study was conducted to unveil the existence of a medical technique called Chicken-foot-shaped needling method("Gaejokchimbup") from the mid-Chosen Dynasty era and for historical investigation of this technique. Methods : Among historical literatures from China, Korea, and Japan on acupuncture and moxibustion, mentions of "Gaejok"(chicken foot) were searched for and studied. Results : Among the Chinese literatures, some medical scholars made references to "chicken foot" after mentioned in Lingshu Jing. In the Korean literatures, Donguibogam gave it the name Gaejokchimbup and mentioned it. In Japan's Chimgugeukbeecho which contains the acupuncture and moxibustion knowledge of Korean doctors, the procedural method was explained in detail. Conclusions : According to these ancient medical literatures, Gaejok was used largely in two meanings. First meaning was performing acupuncture with 3~4 needles in a chicken foot-like shape on a narrow area, whereas the second meaning was using one acupuncture needle and repeatedly inserting the needle while changing directions according to a path in the shape of a chicken's foot. Based on Rumenshiqin and Chimgugeukbeecho, which contain records of actual clinical experiences, Gaejokchimbup appears to have been used as the second method mention above.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.165-176
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• 2009

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of mental stress stimulation and acupucnture applied at HT7 point on heart rate variability (HRV) in normal subjects. Methods : Thirty seven healthy volunteers participated in this study. The volunteers were randomly allocated into two groups. Both groups performed a mental arithmetic stress test and stroop color-word test for 10 minute. Then, acupuncture needles were inserted on HT7 for the study group and on non-acupucnture point for the control group. HRV was recorded three times at test time and before and after acupuncture stimulation. Results : After giving mental stress stimulation to both groups, LF and LF!HF ratio were increased and HF was decreased significantly. After giving acupuncture to study group, LF and LF/HF ratio were decreased and HF was increased, but it was not significant. After giving acupuncture to control group, LF and LF/HF ratio were increased and HF was decreased, but it was not significant. Conclusions : This results show that mental arithmetic stress test and stroop color-word test contribute to activation of the sympathetic nervous system Acupuncture at HT7 could be relatively useful to decrease sympathetic activity and balance autonomic nervous system for those who are under stress.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.31-45
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• 2023

Objectives The aim of this study is to find the future perspective through analyzing the trends of acupuncture treatment for gouty arthritis (GA) by searching the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and PubMed. Methods We searched clinical studies about acupuncture treatment for GA through the searching the electronic database of CNKI and PubMed. We analyzed the characteristics of selected studies according to research design, sample size, publication year, treatment methods, evaluation criteria and adverse events. Results Twenty-nine studies published from January 1, 2015 to July 1, 2022 were selected. They consisted of 25 randomized controlled trials, 3 non-randomized controlled trials, and 1 case reports. In these studies, several types of acupuncture treatments were performed and the most treatment was conventional acupuncture treatment with fine needles. The most commonly used evaluation outcome was effective rate. Conclusions Through this result, the Chinese literature positively reported the effect of acupuncture on GA. However, high-quality evaluation by rigorous research using well-designed and more objective outcomes is required.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.95-107
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• 2023

Objectives The purpose of this study is to help find the future prospects by analyzing the trends of scalp acupuncture treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD) by searching the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and PubMed. Methods We searched clinical studies adopting scalp acupuncture treatment as a main intervention for PD through the searching the database of CNKI and PubMed. We analyzed the characteristics of selected studies especially according to study design, publication year, sample size, treatment period, treatment methods, outcomes criteria and adverse events. Results Twelve randomized controlled trials studies published from January 1, 2012 to July 1, 2023 were selected. In these studies, two types of scalp acupuncture treatments were performed and the most common treatment was Jiao shunfa's scalp acupuncture with fine needles. The most commonly used acupoints were "Chorea tremor control area", 風池 (GB20), 四神聰 (EX-HN1) and 百會 (GV20). The most commonly used outcome measures were effective rate, unified Parkinson disease rating scale (UPDRS) and UPDRS-III. Conclusions Through these results, we found that the Chinese review literature positively reported the effects of scalp acupuncture on PD. However, more high-quality evaluation using the well-designed studies including more objective outcomes should be required.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.65-76
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• 2011

Objectives : The aim of this study is to survey adverse events of acupuncture in the course of peripheral facial palsy treatments. Methods : The prospective observational study included patients hospitalized to receive acupuncture treatments for peripheral facial palsy. All patients were surveyed daily for adverse events associated with the acupuncture treatments applied the day before. Results : A total of 50 patients received $37.68{\pm}20.37$ acupuncture treatments in average. 36 patients reported experiencing at least one adverse event. Total 163 adverse events were reported. Common adverse events were bleeding(62), bruise(33), pain(30), tiredness(11), hematoma(7). The others were paresthesia(4), erythema(3), delay of removing needles(2), edema(2), aggravation of symptoms(2), declining of appetite(2), pruritus(1), drowsiness(1), anxiety(1), sweating(1), headache(1). Conclusions : Acupuncture has adverse events, like any therapeutic approaches. However, it is a relatively safe treatment. In future study, organized large scale prospective survey should be carried out to fully prove that acupuncture is safe.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.202-216
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• 2001

Subject : After acupuncture at So-Chung(HT9) in humans(n=4) we intend to know the differents of acupuncture at acupuncture and non-acupuncture on the electrical frequency change and signal transmission along the meridian with different acupuncture manipulation method. Met6ods : The etectrical signal on the heart merdian acupuncture point, So-Bu(HT8), Shin-Moon(HT7) and So-Hae(HT3), and control non acupuncture points was measured by electrodes biopack instrument. Acupuncture needles(diameter: 0.25mm, length:30mm) were used for acupuncture. The frequency was recorded before, during and after needling the So-chung. Results : After acupuncture the components between 2 and 5Hz frequency level were decreased comparing with that of pre-acupuncture state. Time-delayed correlation coefficient was increased every 10 seconds. It imply that the signal may be transferred. These effects did not appear at non acupuncture point and also did not arise when there was no ki(氣) feeling. These results suggest that acupuncture stimulation is similar to 2~5Hz frequency electric acupuncture. and ki feeling and manipulation which can induce ki feeling is very important in acupuncture clinic.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.175-185
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• 2008

Objective : Acupuncture (from the Latin acus, "needle," and pungere, "to prick") is a technique of inserting and manipulating fine needles at specific points on the body. As a placebo acupuncture needle device was developed based on the visual impact of needling, it has been raised that it is useful only when acupuncture points and needling are visible to subjects. To examine the visual factor of the placebo acupuncture, the present study was aimed to compare the blinding index of the verum and placebo acupuncture between masked and unmasked situation. Methods : Thirty-six patients were randomly alloted to be stimulated with a verum or placebo acupuncture in a cross-over design. They were asked to guess a right answer whether they were stimulated with the verum or placebo acupuncture at LI4 in an unmasked or masked situation. The penetrating, pain, and deqi sensations were also measured after the stimulation using modified visual analogue scale. Results : The correct answer rate of the placebo acupuncture was 22.2% and 16.7% in an unmasked and masked situation, respectively (P>0.767). The blinding index of the placebo acupuncture was -0.56 (95%CI -0.84 to -0.27) and -0.67 (95%CI -0.91 to -0.42) in an unmasked and masked situation, respectively. The penetrating and deqi sensation of the verum acupuncture were significantly higher than those of the placebo acupuncture in both unmasked and masked situation. The pain sensation of the verum acupuncture was significantly higher than that of the placebo acupuncture in masked situation, but not in unmasked situation. Conclusion : Blinding of the placebo acupuncture was successful both in the unmasked and masked situation. These finding indicate that visual factor might not play a critical role in blinding of the placebo needle. We suggest that placebo needle would be also useful in a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan even when the subject could not see the placebo needle.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.160-168
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• 2015

Objectives : This study was intended to observe the changes in the expression of neurotransmitters, such as nNOS, NO and NE upon the needle insertion at varying depths at the connecting point. Methods : Needles were inserted into rats, on both left and right sides of the connecting point, including the LI6, SI7 and TE5 acupoints which are three yang meridians of the hand. After insertion, needles were retained for five minutes. Each acupuncture groups were treated acupuncture at each acupoint and at the depths of superficial, middle and deep layer. After the retention, blood was drawn via cardiac puncture, and tissues of each point near meridian vessels were extracted to examine the changes in the expression of nNOS, NO and NE. Results : In terms of the effect in nNO production, there was a significant increase only in the middle and deep layer at SI7 acupoint, but there was no significant change in the expression of NO. Regarding the formation of norepinephrine within tissues, the middle layer on LI6 acupoint, the middle layer and the deep layer on TE5 acupoint showed a significant increase, while production of plasma norepinephrine was significantly decreased at the middle layer and the deep layer on LI6 acupoint and the deep layer on SI7 acupoint. Conclusions : The effect of needles applied at the connecting point of three yang meridians on the activities of nNOS, and NE could be observed, and it can be induced that the effect of needle stimulation on disrupted nervous system can be examined through additional researches based on this one.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.79-90
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• 1987

The present experiment was performed in 35 normal male volunteers to evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture on the human nociception more clearly and to demonstrate the effect of different parameters of electrical stimulation through acupuncture needles. The threshold of the pain(Tp) and the nociceptive flexion reflex(Tr), the threshold for intolerable pain(Tip) and that for obtaining maximal reflex response(Tmr) were studied before and after electroacupuncture performed on the acupoints of tsusanli and hsuanchung. 1) For the pricking pain, electroacupuncture with intermittent stimulation induced a significant decrease in Tp which recovered after removal of the needles. There was no significant change in other thresholds. 2) For the dull pain, electroacupuncture with intermittent stimulation produced a significant increase in Tp which continued after removal of the needles. But there was no signifcant change in Tip. Electroacupuncture with continuous stimulation induced a slight increase in Tp. 3) After resting without electroacupuncture, Tp and Tip of the dull pain were slightly decreased. These results suggest that electroacupuncture had no significant analgesic effect on the pricking pain induced by electrical stimulation of the foot skin. However, electroacupuncture with intermittent stimulation had significant analgesic effect on the weak dull pain and it had slightly greater analgesic effect than electroacupuncture with continuous stimulation.