Two Cases of Refractory Hiccups Effectively Treated with Acupuncture at the Lump of Infraspinatus Muscle (Terasawa Point) / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

Hiccups can sometimes become intractable. We report two cases of hiccups in which acupuncture practices to the lump of the infraspinatus muscle (Terasawa point) were effective. Case 1 was an 85-year-old male, an inpatient with bacterial pleuritis. His hiccups had persisted for 11 days. Several pharmacotherapeutic approaches were partially effective, but the hiccups were not completely abolished. In situ acupuncture therapy to bilateral Terasawa points was done, and his hiccups disappeared the next day. Case 2 was a 68-year-old male. He experienced insufficient sleep due to hiccups. We inserted needles into bilateral Terasawa points and heated the surrounding area with an electrothermo-acupuncture device using a curved heating plate. When this combination therapy was done, his hiccups disappeared during treatment. Acupuncture at the Terasawa point is one of the therapeutic approaches for hiccups and a rapid effect can be expected.