Comparison Study between Superficial and Deep Acupuncture on the Neck and Shoulder Stiffness-As index of muscle hardness, surface EMG and deep hemodynamics- / 日本温泉気候物理医学会雑誌

We examined the effects of superficial and deep acupuncture on the neck and shoulder stiffness. The aim of this study was 1) to clarify whether muscle hardness and surface EMG under slightly flexed neck position are useful as objective index of the muscle tone 2) to compare the effects of acupuncture in different depths (superficial and deep) on the muscle hardness, surface EMG and deep hemodynamics.<br>10 healthy subjects participated. Two modes of acupuncture, deep muscle stimulation and subcutaneous acupuncture insertion were performed at the neck and shoulder. Both of the superficial and deep acupuncture were left for 10 minutes.<br>As a result, there was a good correlation between muscle hardness and surface EMG under slightly flexed neck position (p<0.01). The integrated EMG was significantly decreased by the superficial acupuncture (p<0.05).<br>On the other hand, muscle hardness was significantly reduced by both of the superficial acupuncture and deep acupuncture (p<0.05).<br>Furthermore, the oxyHb was increased by the superficial acupuncture (p<0.05).<br>These results suggested that the superficial acupuncture has a greater efficiency than the deep acupuncture on neck and shoulder stiffness under slightly flexed neck position.

Relations of Stiff Shoulders with Deep Hemodynamics Values / 日本温泉気候物理医学会雑誌

Poor circulation is considered to be a cause of stiff shoulders, but there have been no studies on deep hemodynamics and the subjective estimation/palpation of stiff shoulders. We evaluated the relationship between deep hemodynamics and the degree of the subjective estimation/palpation of stiff shoulders by near-infrared spectrophotometry.<br>The subjects were 146 patients who visited our center and 23 healthy volunteers. Deep hemodynamics (tissue oxygen saturation: StO₂, total hemoglobin concentration: total Hb) was measured in the scapular region of the bilateral shoulders using a deep hemodynamics measurement system (PSA-IIIN, Biomedical Science), and its relationship with the severity of the subjective estimation of stiff shoulders (5-grade rating) and that of palpation (4-grade rating) was evaluated. Deep hemodynamic values were affected by the body mass index (BMI) that is highly correlated with subcutaneous fat thickness. Therefore, analysis was performed in 70 patients and 8 healthy volunteers with BMI of 20-24 that does not affect hemodynamic values. Compared with the healthy volunteers, patients who reported marked shoulder stiffness showed a significant decrease in total Hb, and that who reported shoulder stiffness showed a significant decrease in StO₂. On the other hand, compared with the healthy volunteers, patients with marked shoulder stiffness observed by palpation showed significant decreases in both StO₂ and total Hb; the decreases were more marked with more marked stiffness. These results suggested that deep hemodynamics is a diagnostic parameter of stiff shoulders.