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Comparison of acupuncturing Hegu (LI4) by metal or laser needle on facial blood perfusion using laser speckle
Yuying Tian1, Tao Huang, Gerhard Litscher
1Institute of Acupuncture & Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Science, China.
Aim:
To compare the difference of remote effects of acupuncture between metal needle and laser needle on facial blood perfusion (FBP).
Methods:
Hand acupuncture and laser-needle acupuncture were randomly used on Hegu (LI4) in 20 healthy volunteers. FBP was observed by speckle contrast imager before, during, and after the acupunctures.
Results:
For hand acupuncture there were gradual increases on the nose and left and right visor areas (p<0.05 or p<0.01) during the acupuncture and on an immediate increase (p<0.01) that remained constant during the acupuncture on the forehead area but no significant increase on mouth area. During laser-needle acupuncture, on the other hand, there was a tendency of increase on the nose, left visor, and right visor areas but these were non significant.
Conclusion:
Hand acupuncture can influence FBP in remote places connected by meridians.