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Author: Jennifer Nachbur
Email: Jennifer.Nachbur@uvm.edu
Phone: (802)656-7875 Fax: (802) 656-3203
Previous studies on acupuncture have focused on the ancient art's
therapeutic effects, but now - for the first time - there is scientific
evidence of the response of body tissue to acupuncture needling. Conducted
at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, the two-year study takes a
major step towards establishing credibility among Western medical
practitioners for the therapy long considered "alternative." A report on the
study, titled "Biomechanical response to acupuncture needling in humans,"
will be featured in the December issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology.
Much of the skepticism about acupuncture stems from the fact that the
insertion of hypodermic needles is routine in Western medicine, and is not
itself considered to be therapeutic. The key to acupuncture's biomechanical
effect, says lead investigator Helene Langevin, M.D., assistant professor of
neurology and a licensed acupuncturist, is not the insertion of each
ultra-fine acupuncture needle, but its manipulation. No previous research
has looked at the effect of the manipulation of the acupuncture needle on
the tissue.
During an acupuncture session, each acupuncture needle is manipulated in
order to elicit the "de qi" (pronounced "day-chee") response. De qi is
traditionally believed to be essential in achieving acupuncture's
therapeutic effect. A phenomenon called "needle grasp" is a component of de
qi that is often described by acupuncturists as feeling like a fish tugging
on a fishing line. When de qi occurs, patients typically experience an
aching sensation.
To establish a scientific basis for acupuncture's effect, the Vermont
researchers sought to measure the force required to overcome the
tissue-needle connection that occurs during needle grasp. Using a unique
computer-controlled acupuncture-needling device, Langevin and her colleagues
found that a much greater pullout force - 167 percent - was required when
the needle was rotated in one direction after insertion than when it was not
rotated. When the needle was rotated back and forth, the pullout force was
53 percent greater. This clinical study - which had a total of 60
participants - was the first to measure this effect using an objective
methodology.
"We now know that needle manipulation has a measurable biomechanical effect
on the tissue," Langevin said. "This effect was present at the control and
acupuncture points that we measured, but somewhat more at the acupuncture
points."
Though previously believed to be a muscle contraction, Langevin's research
indicates that layers superficial to the muscle - skin and/or subcutaneous
connective tissues - may be involved in the body's response to acupuncture
needling. When the needle is pulled back during needle grasp, the
biomechanical phenomenon is visibly recognizable as the tissue below the
skin maintains its grasp on the needle, causing the skin to "tent."
"Our working hypothesis right now is that the needle grasp is due to
connective tissue winding around the needle," said Langevin. "We also think
that the needle may come into contact with more connective tissue at the
acupuncture points identified in ancient texts. This may explain why the
pullout force was slightly greater at those points."
Langevin was also the lead author of a hypothesis paper on research that
supplements these findings, titled "Mechanical signaling through connective
tissue: a mechanism for the therapeutic effect of acupuncture," which
appeared in the October issue of The FASEB Journal. She and her colleagues
plan to focus future research on trying to prove that connective tissue is
indeed involved in needle grasp.
Funding for this study was provided by the National Institutes of Health's
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. In addition to
Langevin, the research team included David L. Churchill, Ph.D., Gale Weld
and Jason Yandow of the department of neurology; Martin H. Krag, M.D., and
James R. Fox, M.S., of the department of orthopaedics and rehabilitation;
Gary J. Badger, M.S., of the department of medical biostatistics; and Brian
S. Garra, M.D., of the department of radiology.
Information resource:
http://www.uvm.edu/news/?Page=News&storyID=2183
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