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[Purpose]Ginger-partitioned moxibustion is indirect moxibustion of putting sliced ginger between the skin and the moxa. It can give mild stimulation with damp heat. The characteristic of the temperature by the thickness of the ginger was investigated with a temperature sensor without changing the weight of the moxa. Moreover, the relation between the result of a questionnaire on thermal sense and maximum temperature was investigated by applying different thicknesses of ginger-partitioned moxibustion to participants.<BR>[Method]A thermometer was fixed on a wood board 3mm thick. Ginger was cut in a 2 cm square, in three kinds of thickness; 3mm, 5mm, and 7 mm. The temperature change was measured every 30 seconds when the cone-shaped moxa (weight: 200 mg, diameter: 2cm, height: 2cm) was burnt on the ginger for each thickness. Next, the thermal sense of the human body was investigated for ginger-partitioned moxibustion. The maximum temperature of ginger-partitioned moxibustion to the forearm of participants was measured by the thermometer set between the sliced ginger and skin. After moxibustion, we did a questionnaire survey about thermal sense and comfort sense.<BR>[Result]As a result of measuring the temperature on the wood board, the maximum temperature decreased and the time to reach the maximum temperature took a long time according to ginger thickness. Ginger-partitioned moxibustion applied to the human body resulted in a correlation between thermal sense and the maximum temperature. The thinner sliced ginger had the stronger thermal sense. Participants who answered little comfort, comfortable or very comfortable were 5/10 people in the 3mm thickness sliced ginger, 9/12 people in the 5 mm ginger group, and 5/9 persons in the7 mm ginger group.<BR>[Discussion and Conclusion]The thickness of ginger can be an important factor that influences the quantity of stimulus of ginger-partitioned moxibustion. In investigating the comfort sense, the stimulation of ginger-partitioned moxibustion was expected to give the comfort. But four of ten participants who received ginger-partitioned moxibustion with a 3mm thickness felt uncomfortable. If we apply ginger-partitioned moxibustion of 200 mg to patients without discomfort, it is undesirable that the ginger thickness be 5 mm or less.
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Acupuncture and Moxibustion are useful traditional medicine that are widely applicable for various kinds of health care services including health maintenance, health promotion or palliative care. Conventional medicine has been developed focusing mainly on curing diseases. However, recent changes in the medical structure that is characterized by an increase in the elderly and chronic diseases emphasize the importance of preventive or amenity medicine or medicine that focuses more on welfare services. Since a unitary system of modern medicine was not suitable to respond to these demands, the necessity of medicine that cares for patients with the view point of welfare has emerged. Also, from the viewpoint of holistic medicine, traditional therapies as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) have been attracting public attention and extending its field of application. These changes suggest the importance of an integrated approach from the viewpoint of patient oriented, holistic, and welfare medicine. We herein discuss the 'Role of Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Welfare'. In order to understand the situation, we need a common point of view to mediate between welfare and medicine with the knowledge of the relationship between these systems. We should discuss how acupuncture and moxibustion medicine can bear the role as well as its possibilities. Outlines of the presentations by invited specialists are as following;Dr. Tadakazu Kumatani will present the relationship between medicine and welfare. He will introduce social workers who support care-at-home or rehabilitation by assisting the patients and their families to solve or regulate economic, psychological and social problems in the health care system as well as their histories. Dr. Ippei Watanabe will state the idea and viewpoint that is common between welfare and acupuncture and moxibustion, and Dr. Tadasu Matsumoto will introduce practical applications of acupuncture and moxibustion in welfare and will state the usefulness and possibilities of acupuncture and moxibustion in the field.<BR>When we view society in the future, medicine is expected to be developed in cooperation with welfare systems. It is necessary for specialists in each field to cooperate. Also, it is necessary to develop a welfare-medical system to provide sufficient services in compliance with demands of each patient, which is based on a firm idea. We would like to suggest role of acupuncture in welfare systems as well as its future and ideas.
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[Purpose] People have various mental images of moxibustion treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between weight of moxa and perceptions of moxibustion treatment.<br>[Methods] We administered a questionnaire survey on moxibustion to 75 new students and visitors to this college. Furthermore, we instructed subjects to make a moxa as they imagined it would be used in moxibustion treatment, then measured these moxa.<br>[Result] The questionnaire survey had many replies indicating that moxibustion is associated with images of “hot”, “scar remains”, and “effective”.<br>Comparing the weights of moxa made by people with moxibustion experience to those made by people with no moxibustion experience, moxa was lighter for the experienced group than for the inexperienced group.<br>Furthermore, when weight of moxa was compared based on images of moxibustion, only moxa of the group with positive images of moxibustion tended to be light.<br>[Conclusion] Image size of the moxa appears to be connected with impressions and experiences of moxibustion treatment.
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Effects of acupuncture and moxibustion on chronic pain in human and animals were reviewed. Firstly, the role of sensitization of pheripheral and/or central nervous systems on the mechanisms of chronic pain was introduced based on the basic researches in experimental animals. Secondly, the effects of acupuncture on neuropathic pain and postoperative pain patients were reviewed and its possiblemechanisms were discussed. Finally, effectiveness of acupuncture and moxibustion on several kinds of chronic nociceptive pain (low back pain, neck pain, headache) was systematically reviewed based on the online database
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Review of the effects of acupuncture and moxibustion on brain function and cerebral disorders in human and animals was presented. Firstly, in basic research on experimental animals, the change of cerebral blood flow induced by acupuncture and its mechanisms had been reviewed. Nextly, the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on human brain function that measured from fMRI, PET, magnetoencephalography (MEG), EEG (including event related potential) have documented in the review of basic research on humans. Finally, effectiveness of acupuncture and moxibustion on stroke was reviewed, and its possibility of QOL-improvement of the patients was discussed.
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The effect of acupuncture on the autonomic nervous system was analyzed by simultaneous measurement of sympathetic skin response (SSR), sympathetic flow response (SFR) and Palmer emotional sweating evoked with electric stimuli to the forehead at random interval and intensity. The mutual relation of measurements by those parameters was examined electrophysiologically.<BR>The subjects were ten healthy male volunteers. SSR at the left palm and SFR at the fingertip of the left forefinger were measured using laser doppler flowmetry, and emotional sweating at teh right palm was measured with the ventilated capsule method (hydrography). The measurements were performed in two sessions, with and without acupuncture stimulation that was given at L14 with the technique of sparrow picking (1Hz) for 1 minute and retaining the needle for 10 minutes. The amplitude of SSR, the reduction rate of SFR, and the sweat rate were measured before and after acupuncture stimulation, while those were measured before and after resting in the other session as a control study. As a result, habituation in each response was not seen and the correlation coefficient in each index was low, while SSR and Palmar sweating were inhibited significantly in the stimulation group only, and SFR was inhibited in both groups.<BR>These results suggested that acupuncture stimulation might inhibit the activity of the skin sympathetic nerve system.
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To investigate the effect of acupuncture treatment combined with extreme infra-red rays radiation, we measured both skin surface and deep temperature at the stimulated area and peripheral site. The subjects were seven healthy volunteers with no problems involving the skin or autonomic nervous system. Acupuncture stimulation was performed on the Subject's back in combination with extreme infra-red rays radiation. The skin surface and deep temperature were measured at both the stimulated area and peripheral site (sole of the foot) using a thermistor temperature sensor and deep tissue thermometer during stimulation. We also measured temperature at those sites during extreme infrared rays radiation without acupuncture stimulation as a control study. Acupuncture stimulation combined with extreme infra-red rays radiation on the subject's back increases both surface and deep temperature at both the stimulated area and the peripheral site (sole of the foot), while the radiation alone had no effect on the temperature at the peripheral site. We suggested that acupuncture treatment combined with extreme infra-red rays radiation was useful to increase skin surface and deep temperature not only at the stimulated area but also at the peripheral site.
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We studied the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) of Baxie on local cold tolerance as an index of cold induced vasodilatation (CIVD). The subjects consisted of 22 healthy adult volunteers.<br>The skin temperature and skin blood flow in the middle finger were measured simultaneously before, during, and after immersing the finger in cold water. TENS at 1Hz with 100-V intensity was applied for 5 minutes before immersion of the finger.<br>Experiments were conducted with no stimulation and with TENS on the same subjects on different days.<br>The results revealed the following:<br>1. The minimum skin temperature and minimum skin blood flow during immersion of the finger in cold water were higher in the TENS group than in the control (no stimulation) group.<br>2. The maximum skin temperature, mean skin temperature, and increase and decrease of skin blood flow rate during immersion of the finger in cold water and in the rising phase of skin temperature were higher in the TENS group than in the control group.<br>3. The index of resistance to frostbite was higher in the TENS group than in the control group.<br>4. The number of fluctuations in skin temperature during immersion of the finger in cold water was significantly higher in the TENS group than in the control group.<br>5. The incidence of abnormal perception during immersion of the finger in cold water was lower in the TENS group than in the control group.<br>These results suggest that TENS enhances the local cold tolerance of fingers by suppressing SSA in the initial falling phase on skin temperature and increasing the motion of skin blood vessels in the rising phase of skin temperature.
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We studied the effects of electro acupuncture stimulation of Baxie on local tolerance as an index of cold induced vasodilation (CIVD). The subjects consisted of 22 healthy adult volunteers. The skin temperature and skin blood flow in the middle finger were simultaneously examined before, during, and after immersion of the finger in cold water. Electroacupuncture stimulation at 1 Hz with a 66 to 100V intensity was performed for 5 minutes. Experiments of no stimulation and electroacupuncture stimulation were conducted on the same subject on different days.<br>The results revealed the following:<br>1. CIVD was caused by rapid increase of skin blood flow during immersion of the finger in cold water.<br>2. The minimum skin temperature, minimum skin blood flow, maximum skin blood flow, mean skin temperature in the rising phase of skin temperature, and the index of resistance to frostbite of the electroacupuncture stimulated group were higher than those of the unstilmulated group, and rates of skin temperature increase and decrease during immersion of the finger in cold water in the electroacupuncture stimulated group were significantly higher. These results show that electroacupuncture stimulation increases local cold tolerance in the finger.
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Although De-qi sensation induced by acupuncture stimulation has been considered one of the conditions for good acupuncture effects, its physiological significance has not been clarified. Therefore, we examined the influence of De-qi sensation on the central nervous system (CNS) by measuring the event-related potential (ERP) induced by acupuncture stimulation.<br>Tests were conducted on nine healthy adult males. Acupuncture stimulation was given to these subjects, and ERPs were collected from three locations of the head, Fz, Cz, and Pz, using both ear lobes as reference electrodes. For control data, surface electric stimulation was given to the same subjects and ERPs were collected from the same locations. Acupuncture stimuli or electric stimuli were given to the left-side LI10 32 times at random intervals of 4 to 7 sec. To analyze ERPs, ERPs in response to 32 trials were averaged using a DP 1100 system (a signal processor made by NEC SANEI, LTD.).<br>The latency of the ERP triggered by acupuncture stimulation was approximately P350msec, while that of the ERP triggered by electric stimulation was found to be approximately P250msec, resulting in a difference of P100msec. These results suggest that the De-qi sensation induced by acupuncture stimulation may strongly influence the CNS functions, especially the processing recognition of CNS. It is suggested that this acupuncture stimuli related potential may not be p-LPC.