Top

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies

Published in:

Open Access 01-12-2014 | Research article

Effect of acupuncture on Deqi traits and pain intensity in primary dysmenorrhea: analysis of data from a larger randomized controlled trial

Authors: Guang-Xia Shi, Qian-Qian Li, Cun-Zhi Liu, Jiang Zhu, Lin-Peng Wang, Jing Wang, Li-Li Han, Li-Ping Guan, Meng-Meng Wu

Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies | Issue 1/2014

Abstract

Background

Deqi is a central concept in traditional Chinese acupuncture. We performed a secondary analysis on data from a larger randomized controlled trial (RCT) in order to assess the effect of acupuncture on deqi traits and pain intensity in primary dysmenorrhea.

Methods

A total of 60 primary dysmenorrhea patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. Acupuncture was given at SP6, GB39 or nonacupoint. Subjective pain was measured by a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after acupuncture. The Massachusetts General Hospital acupuncture sensation scales (MASS) with minor modification was used to rate deqi sensations during acupuncture.

Results

The results showed that VAS scores of pain after acupuncture were significantly decreased comparing to before acupuncture treatment in all three groups (P = 0.000). However, no significant differences were found among three groups at the beginning or end of acupuncture treatment (P = 0.928, P = 0.419).

Conclusions

There was no statistical difference among three groups in terms of intensity of deqi feeling. The types of sensation were similar across the groups with only minor differences among them.

Trial registration

Trial registration number: Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN24863192.

Available only for authorised users

Linde K, Witt CM, Streng A, Weidenhammer W, Wagenpfeil S, Brinkhaus B, Willich SN, Melchart D: The impact of patient expectations on outcomes in four randomized controlled trials of acupuncture in patients with chronic pain. Pain. 2007, 128 (3): 264-271. 10.1016/j.pain.2006.12.006.CrossRefPubMed

Kaptchuk TJ: Acupuncture: theory, efficacy, and practice. Ann Intern Med. 2002, 136 (5): 374-383. 10.7326/0003-4819-136-5-200203050-00010.CrossRefPubMed

Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Eisenberg DM, Erro J, Hrbek A, Deyo RA: The practice of acupuncture: who are the providers and what do they do?. Ann Fam Med. 2005, 3 (2): 151-158. 10.1370/afm.248.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Cheng XN: Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion. 1987, Beijing: Foreign Language Press

MacPherson H, Asghar A: Acupuncture needle sensations associated with deqi: a classification based on experts’ ratings. J Altern Complement Med. 2006, 12 (7): 633-637. 10.1089/acm.2006.12.633.CrossRefPubMed

Brinkhaus B, Witt CM, Jena S, Linde K, Streng A, Wagenpfeil S, Irnich D, Walther HU, Melchart D, Willich SN: Acupuncture in patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 2006, 166 (4): 450-457.PubMed

Linde K, Streng A, Jurgens S, Hoppe A, Brinkhaus B, Witt C, Wagenpfeil S, Pfaffenrath V, Hammes MG, Weidenhammer W, Willich SN, Melchart D: Acupuncture for patients with migraine: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2005, 293: 2118-2125. 10.1001/jama.293.17.2118.CrossRefPubMed

Diener HC, Kronfeld K, Boewing G, Lungenhausen M, Maier C, Molsberger A, Tegenthoff M, Trampisch HJ, Zenz M, Meinert R, GERAC Migraine Study Group: Efficacy of acupuncture for the prophylaxis of migraine, a multicentre randomized controlled clinical trial. Lancet Neurol. 2006, 5: 310-316. 10.1016/S1474-4422(06)70382-9.CrossRefPubMed

Mao JJ, Farrar JT, Armstrong K, Donahue A, Ngo J, Bowman MA: De qi: Chinese acupuncture patients’ experiences and beliefs regarding acupuncture needling sensation–an exploratory survey. Acupunct Med. 2007, 25 (4): 158-165. 10.1136/aim.25.4.158.CrossRefPubMed

10.

Lee H, Bang H, Kim Y, Park J, Lee S, Lee H, Park HJ: Non-penetrating sham needle, is it an adequate sham control in acupuncture research?. Complement Ther Med. 2011, 19 (Suppl 1): S41-8.CrossRefPubMed

11.

Park J, White A, Stevinson C, Ernst E, James M: Validating a new non-penetrating sham acupuncture device: two randomized controlled trials. Acupunct Med. 2002, 20 (4): 168-174. 10.1136/aim.20.4.168.CrossRefPubMed

12.

Kong J, Gollub R, Huang T, Polich G, Napadow V, Hui K, Vangel M, Rosen B, Kaptchuk TJ: Acupuncture de qi, from qualitative history to quantitative measurement. J Altern Complement Med. 2007, 13 (10): 1059-1070. 10.1089/acm.2007.0524.CrossRefPubMed

13.

White A, Cummings M, Barlas P, Cardini F, Filshie J, Foster NE, Lundeberg T, Stener-Victorin E, Witt C: Defining an adequate dose of acupuncture using a neurophysiological approach–a narrative review of the literature. Acupunct Med. 2008, 26 (2): 111-120. 10.1136/aim.26.2.111.CrossRefPubMed

14.

Liu YQ, Ma LX, Xing JM, Cao HJ, Wang YX, Tang L, Li M, Wang Y, Liang Y, Pu LY, Yu XM, Guo LZ, Jin JL, Wang Z, Ju HM, Jiang YM, Liu JJ, Yuan HW, Li CH, Zhang P, She YF, Liu JP, Zhu J: Does Traditional Chinese Medicine pattern affect acupoint specific effect? Analysis of data from a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial for primary dysmenorrhea. J Altern Complement Med. 2013, 19 (1): 43-49. 10.1089/acm.2011.0404.CrossRefPubMed

15.

Asghar AU, Green G, Lythgoe MF, Lewith G, MacPherson H: Acupuncture needling sensation: the neural correlates of Deqi using fMRI. Brain Res. 2010, 1315: 111-118.CrossRefPubMed

16.

Kong J, Fufa DT, Gerber AJ, Rosman IS, Vangel MG, Gracely RH, Gollub RL: Psychophysical outcomes from a randomized pilot study of manual, electro, and sham acupuncture treatment on experimentally induced thermal pain. J Pain. 2005, 6 (1): 55-64. 10.1016/j.jpain.2004.10.005.CrossRefPubMed

17.

White P, Prescott P, Lewith G: Does needling sensation (de qi) affect treatment outcome in pain? Analysis of data from a larger single-blind randomized controlled trial. Acupunct Med. 2010, 28 (3): 120-125. 10.1136/aim.2009.001768.CrossRefPubMed

18.

Vas J, Perea-Milla E, Méndez C, Sánchez Navarro C, León Rubio JM, Brioso M, García Obrero I: Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for chronic uncomplicated neck pain: a randomized controlled study. Pain. 2006, 126 (1–3): 245-255.CrossRefPubMed

19.

Witt C, Brinkhaus B, Jena S, Linde K, Streng A, Wagenpfeil S, Hummelsberger J, Walther HU, Melchart D, Willich SN: Acupuncture in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized trial. Lancet. 2005, 366 (9480): 136-143. 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66871-7.CrossRefPubMed

20.

Scharf HP, Mansmann U, Streitberger K, Witte S, Krämer J, Maier C, Trampisch HJ, Victor N: Acupuncture and knee osteoarthritis: a three-armed randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2006, 145 (1): 12-20. 10.7326/0003-4819-145-1-200607040-00005.CrossRefPubMed

21.

Haake M, Müller HH, Schade-Brittinger C, Basler HD, Schäfer H, Maier C, Endres HG, Trampisch HJ, Molsberger A: German Acupuncture Trials (GERAC) for chronic low back pain: randomized, multicenter, blinded, parallel-group trial with 3 groups. Arch Intern Med. 2007, 167 (17): 1892-1898. 10.1001/Archinte.167.17.1892.CrossRefPubMed

22.

Liang FR: Acupuncture (Zhen Jiu Xue). 2005, Beijing: China Traditional Chinese Medicine Publishing, 195-

23.

Park H, Park J, Lee H, Lee H: Does Deqi (needle sensation) exist?. Am J Chin Med. 2002, 30 (1): 45-50. 10.1142/S0192415X02000053.CrossRefPubMed

24.

Enblom A, Hammar M, Steineck G, Börjeson S: Can individuals identify if needling was performed with an acupuncture needle or a non-penetrating sham needle?. Complement Ther Med. 2008, 16 (5): 288-294. 10.1016/j.ctim.2008.02.012.CrossRefPubMed

25.

Langevin HM, Churchill DL, Wu J, Badger GJ, Yandow JA, Fox JR, Krag MH: Evidence of connective tissue involvement in acupuncture. FASEB J. 2002, 16 (8): 872-874.PubMed

26.

Langevin HM, Churchill DL, Fox JR, Badger GJ, Garra BS, Krag MH: Biomechanical response to acupuncture needling in humans. J Appl Physiol. 2001, 91 (6): 2471-2478.PubMed

27.

Lin W, Wang P: Experimental Acupuncture. 1999, Shanghai: Shanghai Scientific and Technology Publishing House

28.

Kong J, Gollub RL, Webb JM, Kong JT, Vangel MG, Kwong K: Test-retest study of fMRI signal change evoked by electroacupuncture stimulation. Neuroimage. 2007, 34 (3): 1171-1181. 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.10.019.CrossRefPubMed

29.

White P, Bishop F, Hardy H, Abdollahian S, White A, Park J, Kaptchuk TJ, Lewith GT: Southampton needle sensation questionnaire: development and validation of a measure to gauge acupuncture needle sensation. J Altern Complement Med. 2008, 14 (4): 373-379. 10.1089/acm.2007.0714.CrossRefPubMed

30.

Hui KK, Nixon EE, Vangel MG, Liu J, Marina O, Napadow V, Hodge SM, Rosen BR, Makris N, Kennedy DN: Characterization of the “deqi” response in acupuncture. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2007, 7: 33-10.1186/1472-6882-7-33.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

31.

Hui KK, Liu J, Marina O, Napadow V, Haselgrove C, Kwong KK, Kennedy DN, Makris N: The integrated response of the human cerebro-cerebellar and limbic systems to acupuncture stimulation at ST 36 as evidenced by fMRI. Neuroimage. 2005, 27 (3): 479-496. 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.04.037.CrossRefPubMed

32.

Hui KK, Marina O, Claunch JD, Nixon EE, Fang J, Liu J, Li M, Napadow V, Vangel M, Makris N, Chan ST, Kwong KK, Rosen BR: Acupuncture mobilizes the brain’s default mode and its anti-correlated network in healthy subjects. Brain Res. 2009, 1287: 84-103.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

33.

Birch S: Clinical research on acupuncture (Part 2). Controlled clinical trials, an overview of their methods. J Altern Complement Med. 2004, 10: 481-498. 10.1089/1075553041323911.CrossRefPubMed

34.

Suarez-Almazor ME, Looney C, Liu Y, Cox V, Pietz K, Marcus DM, Street RL: A randomized controlled trial of acupuncture for osteoarthritis of the knee: effects of patient-provider communication. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2010, 62: 1229-1236. 10.1002/acr.20225.CrossRef

The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/14/69/prepub

Title: Effect of acupuncture on Deqi traits and pain intensity in primary dysmenorrhea: analysis of data from a larger randomized controlled trial
Authors: Guang-Xia Shi
Qian-Qian Li
Cun-Zhi Liu
Jiang Zhu
Lin-Peng Wang
Jing Wang
Li-Li Han
Li-Ping Guan
Meng-Meng Wu
Publication date: 01-12-2014
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies / Issue 1/2014
Electronic ISSN: 2662-7671
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-14-69

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Effect of acupuncture on Deqi traits and pain intensity in primary dysmenorrhea: analysis of data from a larger randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Trial registration

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Trial registration

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2014

A legume product fermented by Saccharomyces cerevisiae modulates cutaneous atopic dermatitis-like inflammation in mice

Nongenotoxic effects and a reduction of the DXR-induced genotoxic effects of Helianthus annuus Linné (sunflower) seeds revealed by micronucleus assays in mouse bone marrow

Reasons why Thai patients with chronic kidney disease use or do not use herbal and dietary supplements

Anti-hyperglycemic activity of Centella asiatica is partly mediated by carbohydrase inhibition and glucose-fiber binding

Memory-enhancing activities of the aqueous extract of Albizia adianthifolia leaves in the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesion rodent model of Parkinson’s disease

Vellozia flavicans Mart. ex Schult. hydroalcoholic extract inhibits the neuromuscular blockade induced by Bothrops jararacussu venom