Modern acupuncture-like stimulation methods: a literature review

Area of Science:

• Integrative and Complementary Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Acupuncture therapy is recognized for its efficacy across various conditions.
• Modern acupuncture-like stimulation devices (ASDs) are emerging as safe, effective, and infection-risk-reduced alternatives to manual acupuncture.
• ASDs facilitate clinical trial execution and offer potential advantages in patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and summarize research on modern ASDs.
• To focus on actively researched devices, their effectiveness, and target symptoms.
• To analyze publication trends and compare invasive versus noninvasive stimulation methods.

Main Methods:

• Searched Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for English-language human studies.
• Included 195 studies out of 728 identified.
• Categorized devices into electrical, laser, magnetic, and ultrasound stimulators.

Main Results:

• Electrical stimulators were the most studied (133 articles), followed by laser (44), magnetic (16), and ultrasound (2).
• 114 studies were randomized controlled trials, with 109 reporting therapeutic benefits.
• Studies predominantly focused on analgesia/pain relief (32%) and brain activity (16%).
• Publication trends are increasing for all ASD types, with noninvasive methods showing faster growth.

Conclusions:

• Modern ASDs, particularly electrical and laser types, are well-researched and demonstrate therapeutic benefits.
• Noninvasive or minimally invasive ASDs are projected to increase in popularity due to rapid publication growth.
• ASDs represent a significant advancement in acupuncture therapy, offering enhanced safety and research facilitation.