No description available.

Fibromialgia é caracterizada por dor crônica músculo-esquelética difusa, distúrbio do sono, fadiga e humor depressivo ou ansiedade. Cinqüenta e oito mulheres com fibromialgia foram alocadas aleatoriamente e divididas em dois grupos: o primeiro (n=34), tratadas duas vezes por semana com acupuntura perfazendo total de 20 sessões, medicadas com antidepressivos tricíclico e utilizando caminhada, exercícios e relaxamento 2 vezes por semana. O segundo grupo (n=24) recebeu o mesmo tratamento exceto a acupuntura. A avaliação da dor foi realizada através da escala visual analógica (EVA), número de pontos dolorosos (NPD), do índice miálgico (IM) e um questionário SF36 para a qualidade de vida. As avaliações foram feitas antes, após, seis meses, um ano e dois anos depois da primeira avaliação. Foram realizadas por profissionais que desconheciam o grupo ao qual a paciente pertencia. No final das vinte sessões, as pacientes que receberam a acupuntura apresentaram melhora significante nas medidas de dor (EVA, NPD e IM) e em cinco sub-escalas do SF36 em relação ao grupo controle. Após seis meses o grupo de acupuntura apresentou resultado melhor do que o controle em relação ao NPD e ao IM e em uma sub-escala do SF36. Após um ano o grupo de acupuntura mostrou melhora sobre o grupo controle somente em uma sub-escala do SF36. Depois de dois anos do início do tratamento com acupuntura não houve diferença significativa entre os dois grupos em todas as medidas pesquisadas. A associação da acupuntura ao tratamento usual para fibromialgia mostrou-se benéfica para dor e qualidade de vida, mas somente por três meses após o tratamento. / Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic widespread pain, disturbed sleep, fatigue and psychological distress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acupuncture as a treatment for this condition. Fifty-eight women diagnosed with fibromyalgia were randomly allocated to two groups. One group received acupuncture (n=34) twice a week for 20 sessions in addition to tricyclic antidepressants and exercises. The control group (n=24) received only tricyclic antidepressants and exercises. Patients rated their pain intensity using a visual analogue scale (VAS). A blinded assessor evaluated the number of fibromyalgia tender points (TePsN) and the pressure pain threshold over the 18 fibromyalgia tender points (PPT18). The same assessor also evaluated quality of life (QoL) using SF-36. These evaluations were done prior to treatments, at the end of the 20 sessions, and again at six months, one year and two years after the first evaluation. At the end of the 20 sessions, patients who had received acupuncture were significantly better than those who had not in all measures of pain (VAS, TePsN, PPT18) and in five subscales of SF-36. After six months, the acupuncture group was significantly better than the control group in some measures of pain (TePsN and PPT18) and in one subscale of SF-36. After one year, the acupuncture group showed significant advantage in only one subscale of SF-36; at two years there were no significant differences between the two groups on all outcome measures. The addition of acupuncture to usual treatment for fibromyalgia is beneficial for pain and quality of life, but only in the first six months.

O presente estudo foi clínico duplo-cego randomizado, placebo controlado. Avaliou o efeito analgésico do acuponto Estômago 7 (E7) em pacientes portadores de Disfunção Temporomandibular. A possível analgesia foi estudada bilateralmente nos músculos masséter e temporal anterior. A proposição se estendeu a fim de elucidar se existem diferenças nos resultados quando se utiliza um ponto em um lado da face, se o resultado repercute do outro lado da face e se a acupuntura atua no limiar de dor do indivíduo. O estudo foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. A amostra constou de 56 pacientes. Todos os pacientes receberam a acupuntura real e acupuntura placebo, em sessão única. O acuponto E7 foi puncionado sempre do lado direito da face dos indivíduos. Os parâmetros utilizados para a avaliação foram a Escala Visual Analógica (EVA) e o Limiar de dor à Pressão (LDP). Avaliados antes e após o tratamento. A diminuição média do parâmetro EVA do lado direito foi de 39,73. Para o lado esquerdo, a diminuição média foi de 41,81. O parâmetro LDP aumentou imediatamente. O ponto isolado de acupuntura E7 promoveu a diminuição da dor do músculo masséter dos indivíduos. Foi possível agulhar um lado do paciente e atuar no lado oposto. O limiar de dor a pressão (LDP) medida no músculo-temporal anterior foi aumentado bilateralmente. / This was a clinical, double blind, randomized, placebo controlled study. It had the purpose of assessing the analgesic effect of acupoint Stomach 7 (S7) in patients with Temporomandibular Disorders. The possible analgesia was studied bilaterally on the masseter and anterior temporalis muscles. The proposal intended to find if there are differences in the results when a point on one side of the face is used and whether there is a repercussion on the other side of the face. Moreover, if acupuncture acts on the pain threshold of individuals. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Researches of the School of Dentistry of the University of São Paulo under number 544519. Fifty-six patients took part in the study. All the patients received real acupuncture and placebo acupuncture in a single appointment. Acupoint St7 was stimulated always on the right side of the patients faces. The parameters used for the assessment were the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT), assessed before and after treatment. The mean decrease of VAS parameter on the right side was 39.73; and on the left side, the mean decrease was 41.81. The parameter PPT increased immediately. The isolated point of acupuncture St7 organized decrease of pain in the masseter muscle of patients. It was possible to puncture one side of the patient and act on the opposite side. The Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) measured on the anterior temporalis muscle increased bilaterally.

Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar os efeitos da acupuntura em dois diferentes grupos de pacientes portadores de Disfunções Temporomandibulares (DTM), um deles com DTM de característica apenas muscular (MUSC), e o outro com DTM muscular associada a desordem articular (ART). Participaram dessa pesquisa 68 pacientes, 32 no grupo MUSC e 36 no grupo ART. Os pacientes de cada grupo foram aleatoriamente subdivididos em dois grupos, que receberam diferentes tratamentos por acupuntura. Um grupo foi tratado com pontos próximos ao local da dor (VG20, VB20, TA21, E6 e E7), e o outro, com pontos à distância (IG4 e YinTang). Foram 6 sessões semanais, cada uma com duração de 20 minutos. Os pacientes foram avaliados por meio de escala visual analógica (VAS), limiar de dor à pressão por algômetro, sensibilidade dolorosa à palpação digital, extensão de movimentos mandibulares, questionário para medir o impacto da dor na qualidade de vida (OHIP-14), questionário de qualidade do sono (SAQ) e questionário para avaliar a percepção dos sinais e sintomas pelo paciente (ProDTMmulti). As avaliações foram feitas em 4 momentos diferentes, o inicial, no primeiro contato com o paciente após o período de triagem, o controle, após 4 semanas sem qualquer intervenção terapêutica, o final, após 6 sessões semanais de acupuntura, e o de acompanhamento, 4 semana após o fim do tratamento, sem que nenhum intervenção fosse feita. Os resultados demonstraram que as melhorias estatisticamente significativas para os grupos experimentais foram observadas de maneira generalizada para a avaliação subjetiva da dor, em que todos os grupos de comportaram de maneira semelhante, apesar de os melhores resultados terem sido observados em ART-PD. Em todos os outros parâmetros de avaliação foi possível observar aspectos de melhoria dos grupos com significância estatística (p<0,05), mas não de maneira generalizada como na VAS. Parâmetros objetivos, como extensão de movimentos mandibulares e algometria, mostraram uma tendência para melhoria, embora sem significância estatística para todos os grupos. A acupuntura foi um tratamento considerado eficiente no controle da dor e dos outros aspectos avaliados em pacientes com DTM muscular associada ou não a alterações articulares. / This study aimed to evaluate the effect of acupuncture treatment in two diferent types of temporo-mandibular disorder (TMD) pacients: muscular TMD (MUSC) and a muscular plus articular TMD (ART). Out of 68 patientes, 32 were classified to the MUSC group and the other 36 ones for the ART group. Patientes of each group were randomly assigned into two subgroups according to type of practiced acupuncture. One subgroup were treated with local acupuncture, next (PL) to the pain location (VG20, VB20, TA21, E6 e E7), and the other one were treated with needles inserted distant (PD) to the pain location (IG4 e YinTang). Six weekly 20min treatment sections were performed. The patients were evaluated according to Visual Analogic Scale (VAS), pressure pain thresold by algometer, digital pressure pain sensation, mandibular movements extension, quality of life questionaire (OHIP-14), sleep quality questionaire (SAQ), and signals and simptoms questionaire (ProDTMmulti). Evaluations were performed at for different moments: initially, at the first meeting; control, four weeks after the initial meeting; end, after six acupunture meetings; and follow-up, four weeks after treatment end, without any additional intervention. Results showed that statistical significant better observations for subjective pain evaluation were noted for all groups, in spite of the best results were noted in ART-PD. According to all evaluation methods it was possible to note better results for all groups (p<0,05), but this was not so noticiable as on VAS evaluation. Direct objective parameters, i.e., mandibular movements extension or algomenter measurements, showed a tendecy for better results, but no statistical significant results were found. Acupuncture could be considered an effective treament option for pain relief and also for the other evaluated aspects for patients with muscular TMD with or without articular association.

Dans ma thèse intitulée La médecine chinoise dans la pratique médicale en France et en Italie, de 1930 à nos jours. Représentations, réception, tentatives d'intégration je montre de quelle manière la médecine chinoise a pu trouver une place dans le milieu médical occidental contemporain. Pour cela j'ai choisi de donner à mon travail une approche comparative en prenant l'Italie et la France comme objet d'études du contexte européen. Dans la première partie, je retrace l'histoire de la diffusion de la médecine chinoise en France et en Italie depuis son apparition dans ces deux pays au XXe siècle. J'étudie plus précisément l'apparition de l'acupuncture en France à partir des années 1930 jusqu'à nos jours en décrivant la naissance et l'évolution des principales sociétés d'acupuncture et de médecine chinoise françaises, leurs activités d'enseignement et leurs démarches pour une reconnaissance de cette pratique de soin au sein du milieu médical conventionnel. Je m'attache aussi à décrire les œuvres des principales personnalités, souvent des médecins acupuncteurs, qui ont participé à la diffusion de la médecine chinoise et de l'acupuncture dans l'hexagone. Dans ma deuxième partie, je décris la situation de la médecine chinoise en Italie et son évolution depuis les années 1970. Je montre comment la pratique de l'acupuncture dans ce pays a été influencé par l'enseignement et le savoir médical venant de France jusqu'aux années 1990 et comment elle s'est ensuite petit à petit démarquée de l'acupuncture française pour s'ouvrir à d'autres références venant directement de Chine, d'Angleterre et des États-Unis. Dans ma troisième partie, je combine les données quantitatives que j'ai recueillies avec mes sources qualitatives pour mettre en place une véritable comparaison entre les situations observées en France et en Italie. J'ai en effet étudié année par année les écoles françaises et italiennes et y ai relevé le nombre des médecins inscrits puis j'ai confronté ces données aux statistiques nationales d'évolution des inscrits dans les facultés de médecine. J'ai aussi utilisé des données quantitatives venant des fédérations nationales des acupuncteurs pour les confronter au nombre des médecins en exercice. Pour ce qui est de mes sources qualitatives, j'ai utilisé les résultats de mon enquête par questionnaires, que j'ai analysés selon la Grounded theory formulée par Anselm Strauss , les entretiens avec des médecins acupuncteurs, des responsables des services hospitaliers et des responsables au niveau régional des projets de diffusion de la médecine chinoise (soit en tout quarante-trois entretiens en Italie et trente en France) et enfin mon travail de terrain dans cinq hôpitaux français et italiens (quatre hôpitaux français et un hôpital universitaire italien). Dans cette partie je m'attache à montrer comment l'acupuncture et la médecine chinoise sont perçues en France, principalement par les praticiens eux-mêmes et en quoi cette conception diffère de celle des médecins praticiens italiens. La quatrième partie de ma recherche porte sur le travail de terrain mené auprès des médecins acupuncteurs dans cinq hôpitaux français et italiens. J'ai consacré ces cas d'études à l'observation et l'analyse de différentes situations d'exercice de l'acupuncture dans des milieux de soin publics où la médecine conventionnelle est largement dominante. Mon but était de montrer comment l'acupuncture peut être intégrée dans le contexte médical orthodoxe et les difficultés rencontrées par les médecins la pratiquant de porter leur exercice dans un milieu médical conventionnel.

The overall aim of this thesis was to elucidate and investigate psychophysiological aspects and effects of acupuncture and needle stimulation. Within this framework emphasis was directed toward the effects of needle stimulation (acupuncture) on muscle blood flow in the tibialis anterior and trapezius muscles in healthy subjects and patients suffering from chronic muscle pain. This study also included evaluation of a new application of photoplethysmography in noninvasive monitoring of muscle blood flow. The evaluation was based on experiments known to provocate skin or muscle blood flow. The psychological aspects studied comprised the effects of manual acupuncture on pain in fibromyalgia patients and the effects of electro-acupuncture on psychological distress and vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women in the clinical context. The results showed that photoplethysmography have potential to noninvasively monitor muscle blood flow and to discriminate between blood flow in skin and muscle, although some considerations still have to be accounted for. It was further shown that muscle blood flow change in response to needle stimulation differed between healthy subjects and patients. Deep needle stimulation in the muscle of healthy subjects consistently increased muscle blood flow more than subcutaneous needle stimulation. In the painful trapezius muscle of FMS patients, however, subcutaneous needling was equal or even more effective in increasing muscle blood flow than deep intramuscular stimulation. Generally, needle stimuli had weak effect on blood flow in the trapezius muscle of the severely affected trapezius myalgia patients, possibly depending on older age and lesser number of patients included in the study. The different patterns of blood flow response to needle stimulation between healthy subjects and patients with chronic muscle pain might be a manifestation of altered somatosensory processing in the patients. The clinical studies showed that best pain relief of acupuncture in FMS patients was achieved in the neck-shoulder region, while the effect on the generalised symptoms was of short duration. Well-being and sleep was found to best predict treatment outcome. The results suggest that acupuncture treatment may be used for the alleviation of neck-shoulder pain, primarily, but it is not an alternative as the sole treatment. Electro-acupuncture, significantly decreased psychological distress and climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal women, but not better than a (near-) placebo control, implying pronounced non-specific effects. / Akupunktur ingår som en del i traditionell kinesisk medicin (TCM) och har använts i över 2000 år för att lindra sjukdom och symptom. I Sverige blev akupunktur godkänd som smärtlindringsmetod inom Hälso- och Sjukvården 1984. Sedan nästan 10 år är akupunktur jämställd med övrig behandling i sjukvården vilket innebär, att akupunktur kan användas även för behandling av annat än smärta. Förutsättningen är emellertid, att det finns tillräckligt med vetenskapliga belägg, s.k. evidens, för detta. I de allra flesta fall saknas det idag. För att säkerställa att evidens föreligger krävs omfattande forskning om effekter av akupunktur. Syftet med de olika studierna i avhandlingen var att belysa och studera psykologiska och fysiologiska aspekter och effekter av akupunktur och nålstimulering. Effekt på blodflöde i hud och muskel undersöktes på friska personer och på patienter med kronisk muskelsmärta. Normalt krävs ett mindre kirurgiskt ingrepp för att mäta blodflöde i muskel, men i dessa studier användes en mätmetod, som enkelt och utan ingrepp (icke-invasivt) i normala fall används för att mäta blodflöde i huden, s.k. fotopletysmografi (PPG, eng.). Med hjälp av ny teknik användes PPG i dessa studier för att mäta även muskelblodflöde. En studie för utvärdering av den nya PPG-tekniken ingick också i avhandlingen. Utvärderingen av mätmetoden visade goda möjligheter att mäta muskelblodflöde icke-invasivt med hjälp av PPG. Hos friska personer blev effekten på blodflödet störst vid djup stimulering i muskeln och där den s.k. DeQi-känslan framkallades (som vid klassisk akupunktur). Hos patienter med fibromyalgi var nålstimulering i huden lika, eller t.o.m. mer, effektiv att öka muskelblodflödet i skuldran än den djupa nålstimuleringen. De olika mönstren av blodflödesökning mellan de friska personerna och patienterna kan bero på ett förändrat reaktionssätt i nervsystemet som svar på smärtsam stimulering. I två kliniska studier studerades den smärtlindrande effekten av manuell akupunktur vid fibromyalgi och effekten av elektroakupunktur på stress och klimakteriebesvär hos kvinnor i övergångsåldern. Akupunktur vid fibromyalgi visade sig ha bäst smärtlindrande effekt i nack-skulderområdet, medan effekten på de generella symptomen var kortvarig. Patienter som mådde och sov relativt bra erhöll bäst effekt. Efter en behandlingsserie, bestående av elektroakupunktur, minskade stress och klimakteriebesvär påtagligt hos kvinnorna i övergångsåldern, men inte mer än hos en grupp kvinnor, som fick en kontrollbehandling bestående av mycket ytligt placerade nålar i huden. Detta tyder på att en betydlig del av behandlingsresultatet utgjordes av ospecifika effekter eller, s.k. eller placeboeffekter.

No description available.

Bakgrund: Långvarig smärta i nacke, skuldra eller ländrygg är komplexa tillstånd som kan leda till fysiska och psykiska påfrestningar samt försvåra det dagliga livet för drabbade individer. Den vanligaste metoden för att minska smärta är att använda farmakologiska preparat men det finns en risk att dessa kan ha negativa biverkningar. Akupunktur är en komplementär behandlingsmetod med ursprung från kinesisk medicin som även blivit godkänd inom svensk sjukvård och kan användas som komplement till farmakologiska medel. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva effekten av akupunktur hos individer med långvarig smärta i nacke, skuldra eller ländrygg. Metod: En litteraturöversikt med kvantitativ ansats har använts som metod för att besvara syftet. Litteraturöversikten består av jämförelser mellan 12 randomiserade kontrollstudier. Resultat: Enligt litteraturöversiktens resultat kan akupunktur ha positiva effekter på smärtlindring, livskvalitet, rörelseförmåga och funktionsförmåga hos individer med långvarig smärta i nacke, skuldra eller ländrygg. Slutsats: Det positiva resultatet kan ses som en indikation till att akupunktur är en fördelaktig behandlingsmetod vid långvarig smärta. Däremot är det viktigt att individualisera vården. / Background: Chronic pain in neck, shoulder or lower back is complex states which might lead to physical and psychological distress and therefore aggravates the daily living. Pharmacological treatment is common for individuals with chronic pain but can cause troublesome adverse effects. Acupuncture is a complementary treatment which origins from Chinese medicine and has been approved as a treatment in Swedish healthcare for various states. Purpose: The purpose was to describe the effects of acupuncture in individuals with chronic pain in neck, shoulder or lower back. Method: A literature review with a quantitative approach has been used and includes comparisons between 12 randomized controlled trials. Results: Acupuncture as a complementary treatment may have a positive effect on pain intensity, quality of life, range of movement and functionality in individuals with chronic pain in neck, shoulder or lower back. Conclusion: Regarding to the positive effects of acupuncture it can be seen as an indicator as treatment towards chronic pain, however the authors emphasize the need of an individualized approach within the health care.

The intent of this thesis is to explore the various ways in which acupuncturists trained in Quebec interpret and use the term qi in their practice as healers. It argues that these choices are influenced by the implicit connection between complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and New Age spirituality. As Asian medical systems such as Chinese medicine carve out a niche within the dominant biomedical health-care system, there is a simultaneous desire to present its medical system as scientifically coherent within the biomedical context and a desire to cater to the New Age orientalist fascination with "traditional" Asian medicine and what is perceived as its inherent spiritual qualities. This study concludes that although Quebecois acupuncturists are well-versed in the historical interpretations of the term qi, as well as its medical applications, there is nevertheless a tendency for these practitioners to understand qi as a part of the framework of their own personal spirituality and the relation of that spirituality to their work as healers. Moreover, it is shown that this tendency is strongly informed by the interface of New Age notions concerning healing and the CAM movement. By situating the study within the cultural milieu of Quebec, the specific religio-historical background of this locale and its effects on these practitioners is also taken into consideration.

There remains a high degree of scepticism about acupuncture since its theoretical basis has no clear reference in Western medical and scientific terms, making any associations between neurophysiology and specific acupuncture concepts difficult to determine. Using neuroimaging and engineering approaches to understand its physiological basis may engender greater acceptance of and improvement in the clinical application of acupuncture. Research into the efficacy of acupuncture has raised a number of difficult methodological issues, particularly in relation to the selection of appropriate controls. Separating specific effects from non-specific effects is complex because acupuncture is a physical, invasive, manual procedure involving time and ritual. Sham acupuncture results show only the difference between sham and real acupuncture not the real affect of acupuncture, and other controls may produce distinct subjective and objective effects. Point injection (the injection of a small amount of a substance at an acupoint), a recent innovation of traditional acupuncture, aims to enhance and prolong the stimulation effect in a standardised, reproducible manner. By providing precise, measurable acupoint stimulation applied incrementally in a specifically designed paradigm, an acupoint could act as its own control. This firstly requires injection to be validated against traditional needling. Aims 1. To develop an instrument for reproducible saline delivery at an acupoint. 2. To cross-validate saline acupoint injection (PI) with traditional needle acupuncture (TA). 3. To demonstrate central nervous system (CNS) effects of acupuncture both in health and chronic pain. Hypothesis The primary hypothesis is that stimulation of specific acupoints with linearly incremental saline injection produces differential effects within the CNS observable with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allowing investigation of acupuncture in health and chronic pain. Novelty As neuroimaging has not yet clearly defined the brain structures that may be modulated by acupuncture, this project is exploratory in nature. It is expected that acupuncture effects can be robustly imaged with fMRI in healthy subjects and those suffering chronic pain. The demonstrated effects will result from the acupuncture process of progressive point stimulation by tissue distension rather than needle insertion or biological noise. It is proposed to examine the putative modulation of pain by acupuncture within the extensively mapped neuromatrix of cortical and subcortical regions, including the somatic, insula, and limbic cortices, and thalamus. Detailed information regarding differences in brain response between acupuncture in normal and diseased states will expand understanding of acupuncture as a clinical tool. The dilemma of sham stimulation or arbitrary controls will be addressed by confirming PI as a valid, reproducible stimulation method. Methods and Results A series of empirical experiments was designed and conducted to determine the effects of stimulation of different acupoints. 1. Chapters 1 and 3 outline the current understanding of acupuncture in the Western milieu and a review of the neuroimaging literature respectively. 2. In Chapter 2, the report of PI tested against TA in healthy volunteers to determine equivalence of physiological effect demonstrates no statistically significant differences between the methodologies. 3. Chapter 4 reports the design and validation of a task specific microprocessor controlled syringe driver. 4. Four differing acupoints were tested during an fMRI experiment described in Chapter 5; different activation areas were demonstrated across the acupoints providing early support for the hypothesis that different acupoints may have different effects. A subset of brain areas recognised within the pain neuromatrix was delineated, congruent spatially and directionally with those reported in pharmacological analgesia studies. 5. As outlined in Chapter 6, heart rate variability can be measured rapidly in a stressful environment to provide meaningful data on the response of the autonomic nervous system to acupuncture stimulation. 6. The hypothesis of different acupoints having different effects was tested in subjects suffering chronic pain by contrasting an accepted and a neutral acupoint, the results being reported in Chapter 7. Conclusion Despite a long history of clinical usage, appropriate scientific studies have not yet addressed the basic effectiveness and efficacy of acupuncture. This thesis presents a series of empirical studies designed to address a number of the questions arising in the literature and provides converging evidence of the manner in which different acupoints modulate the CNS, specifically within the pain neuromatrix.