Efficacy and Cost Effectiveness of the Acupuncture Treatment Using a New Skin Stimulus Tool Called M-Test Which Is a Measure Based on Symptoms Accompanied with Body Movements: A Pragmatic RCT Targeting Hemodialysis Patients.

M-Test can simultaneously reduce hemodialysis patients' diverse symptoms. Its diagnosis and treatment are based on simple movements that can be performed by anyone and allow determining which meridians have problems by analyzing symptoms accompanied with movement. It also enables to conduct a safe and effective treatment with use of microcorn which is a noninvasive treatment tool. This time we conducted microcorn intervention on hemodialysis patients based on diagnosis of M-Test. As a result, almost all of the dialysis patients' complaints have been relieved while the score of HR-QOL increased. According to our calculation of cost effectiveness, it confirmed that it is very cost-effective.

Effects of active individual muscle stretching on muscle function.

[Purpose] We investigated the effect of active individual muscle stretching (AID) on muscle function. [Subjects] We used the right legs of 40 healthy male students. [Methods] Subjects were divided into an AID group, which performed stretching, and a control group, which did not. We examined and compared muscle function before and after stretching in the AID and control groups using a goniometer and Cybex equipment. [Results] A significant increase in flexibility and a significant decrease in muscle strength output were observed in the AID group after the intervention. [Conclusion] These results suggest that AID induces an increase in flexibility and a temporary decrease in muscle output strength.

Effect of gentle cutaneous stimulation on heat-induced autonomic response and subjective pain intensity in healthy humans.

The present study examined whether touch influences the autonomic responses and subjective pain intensity induced by noxious heat stimulation in humans. Heart rate and digital pulse wave were recorded. Heat stimulation was applied to the right plantar foot before, during, and after touch. Subjective pain intensity was evaluated using a visual analog scale (VAS). Touch was applied over the right medial malleolus for 10 min. Two types of touch were employed in a cross-over double-blinded randomized manner. When touch was applied with a soft elastomer brush, heat-induced autonomic responses attenuated significantly, while VAS scores were unchanged. In contrast, touch with a flat disc was ineffective for any measurement. Participants hardly perceived a difference in the texture of the touching materials. The present study result suggests there are mechanisms in conscious humans where some sort of touch inhibits nociceptive transmission into autonomic reflex pathways independent of sensation and cognition.

Applicability of press needles to a double-blind trial: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Owing to a lack of a suitable needle procedure, it has been impossible to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in clinical studies using double-blind testing. We evaluated the applicability of a new kind of press needle (Pyonex) to a double-blind trial by comparing the press needle with a placebo (lacking the needle element). METHODS: The purpose of the study consisted of 2 phases. In the phase 1, to evaluate the applicability and efficacy of the press needles, 90 participants who had never been treated using acupuncture were randomly assigned to receive either the press needle (n=45) or a placebo (n=45). The applicability was measured using a questionnaire regarding the perception of penetration, and efficacy was measured using a visual analog scale of low back pain (LBP). When the applicability and efficacy of the press needles were confirmed in phase 1, the mechanism of LBP relief by the press needles was examined in phase 2. RESULTS: In phase 1, intergroup comparisons showed no significant differences concerning the perception of penetration. In addition, for patients with LBP, the press needles reduced the subjective evaluation of LBP compared with the placebo (P<0.05). In phase 2, visual analog scale results indicated that LBP was reduced significantly more in the press needle group than in the local anesthesia group (P<0.05). DISCUSSION: The participants could not distinguish between the press needle and a placebo, and the data from the press needle group suggested a specific influence on patients with LBP. These findings imply that the press needle and a placebo provide an effective means of realizing a double-blind setting for clinical studies of acupuncture.

Acupuncture can reduce perceived pain, mood disturbances and medical expenses related to low back pain among factory employees.

To investigate the effects of acupuncture on perceived pain, mood disturbances and medical expenses related to low back pain (LBP), an intervention study was performed among 72 employees of a steel company, 70 males and 2 females, aged 53.1+/-7.1 (mean+/-SD) yr, with LBP. They received acupuncture treatment once a week for 8 wk (from October to December 1998) by licensed acupuncturists, adopting a new hypothesis of the Meridian test. Perceived pain scale, and Profile of Mood States (POMS) were administered. Past and present histories of employees' visits to hospitals and their medical expenses for LBP were surveyed from receipts obtained from the subjects' branch factory and from receipts from another nearby branch factory (control) during the period from April 1998 to March 1999. After 8 wk of treatment, patients with LBP reported diminished pain (p<0.01). POMS showed a significant decrease in the total mood disturbance score (p<0.001). The number of visits to conventional hospitals (12.1+/-8.0 vs. 0.8+/-0.8 per month, p<0.05) and standardized medical expenses for LBP (100.1+/-89.6 vs. 7.3+/-6.9 per month, p<0.05) after acupuncture intervention (November 1998 to March 1999) were significantly decreased as compared with those before intervention (April 1998 to October 1998). In contrast, such decreases were not observed in employees from the control branch factory. It is suggested that acupuncture can reduce medical expenses for LBP through improvement in mood and pain.

Acupuncture practitioner-patient communication in Japan.

We evaluated acupuncture practitioner-patient communication using pairs of practitioners and patients. Our primary objective was to evaluate the concordance of practitioner and patient perceptions in terms of explanations regarding consultation, therapy, and patient satisfaction. The subjects were 250 practitioners and their 1250 patients in Fukuoka, Japan. Answers were obtained from 91 acupuncture practitioners (36.40%) and 407 patients (32.56%). Of these, responses from 125 pairs without missing values were used for the analysis. When practitioner-patient communication, as evaluated by the difference between the patients' and the practitioners' perceptions with respect to the level of practitioner explanation, was good, patient outcome (ie, satisfaction with therapy, improvement in health) was also good. Factors related to poor practitioner-patient communication included age of the practitioner, the number of practitioners at a clinic, the experience of the practitioner, and the age of the patient. These findings may be useful in improving practitioner-patient communication.

The effectiveness of acupuncture for depression--a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: To summarise the existing evidence on acupuncture as a therapy for depression. METHODS: RCTs were included, in which either manual acupuncture or electroacupuncture was compared with any control procedure in subjects with depression. Data were extracted independently by two authors. The methodological quality was assessed. Pre and post means and SDs for depression specific measures were extracted, when available, for meta-analysis. RESULTS: Seven randomised comparative trials involving 509 patients were included. The evidence is inconsistent on whether manual acupuncture is superior to sham, and suggests that acupuncture was not superior to waiting list. Evidence suggests that the effect of electroacupuncture may not be significantly different from antidepressant medication, weighted mean difference -0.43(95% CI -5.61 to 4.76). There is inconclusive evidence on whether acupuncture has an additive effect when given as an adjunct to antidepressant drugs. CONCLUSION: The evidence from controlled trials is insufficient to conclude whether acupuncture is an effective treatment for depression, but justifies further trials of electroacupuncture.