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THE SOMATIC REACTION INDUCED BY ACUPUNCTURE STIMULATION:
Autonomic Nervous System Response and Electromyographic Activity
Tim H. Tanaka , Ph.D.
The Pacific Wellness Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(Published in the Dissertation Abstracts International, Vol. 57, No. 6, 1996)
Abstract:
A variety of empirical-philosophical strategies have been employed in clinical acupuncture and applied in accordance with each practitioner’s experience. Unfortunately, such strategies were not substantially nor scientifically validated. This project’s aim was to probe further into the physiological response to acupuncture and seek its clinical validation. Three basic experimental studies and a further clinical investigation were conducted to meet the initial aim. Experiments I and II investigated the action of acupuncture, depending on whether the stimulation was applied continuously (CONT) or only during the exhalation phase (SSE). Experiment I evaluated a chronic tension-type headache patient’s static Electromyographic (EMG) activity, autonomic response (AR), and pain response, while Experiment II evaluated a neck pain sufferer’s dynamic EMG activity and AR. Experiment III examined the short-term effect of combining SSE and deep needling stimulation (DNS). Dynamic EMG, cervical range of movement (CROM), and pain scale were utilized as parameters. In the Clinical Investigation, an attempt to validate the clinical benefit and prolonged effect of SSE and DNS was conducted. Neck pain subjects were treated 8 times over a 4 week period and a follow-up evaluation was completed 4 weeks later. The results indicated that SSE stimulation significantly decreased headache intensity and displayed a strong trend towards decreasing static EMG activity compared to CONT stimulation. A significant autonomic response was induced by both types of stimulation. The combination of SSE and DNS administration significantly increased CROM and decreased pain intensity in the short and long term. The study concluded that acupuncture applied on the same point and at the same depth produced different physiological effects depending on whether the stimulation was applied during exhalation only or continuously applied. The benefit of acupuncture, therefore, derives not only from point selection, depth, and matching medical symptoms, but also in the awareness and utilization of the patient’s breathing phase during stimulation. Furthermore, the study confirmed the clinical usefulness of utilizing a combination of SSE and DNS treatment. A conceptual view of further research in acupuncture ends this dissertation.
For more information or to speak with the author, Dr. Tim Tanaka, contact him at the Pacific Wellness Institute in Toronto.
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