Multidisciplinary Pain Centre, Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Munich, Germany.
Acupunct Med. 2012 Jun;30(2):120-6. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2011-010118. Epub 2012 May 5.
One theory about acupuncture suggests that pathological processes can cause measurable changes in electrical skin resistance (ESR) at acupuncture points (APs). Although the theory has yet to be proven, ESR measurements (ESRMs) form a frequently used part of contemporary acupuncture. The aim of this study was to test the so-called 'electrical responsiveness' of APs in the setting of a defined operative trauma.
ESRMs (n=424) were performed at the APs and surrounding skin of GB34 and ST38 in 163 participants using an impedance meter array developed for the purpose of ESRMs. For each group the percentage of measurements with a significantly different ESR between the APs and the surrounding skin was calculated and compared with each other. Measurements of four groups were compared: healthy control subjects (n=30) and patients after ophthalmic (n=29), hip (n=42) and shoulder (n=30) surgery. The influence of postoperative pain intensity was also assessed.
Group comparison showed no significant differences for ST38. The ESRMs at GB34 had a significantly higher percentage of measurements with an increased ESR after ophthalmic (23.2%) and hip (22.2%) surgery, but not after shoulder surgery (7.5%). Subgroup analysis showed that an increase in pain intensity tended to lead to a decrease in the number of APs with ESR changes.
These results suggest that reactive changes in ESR at APs might exist. Pain and alertness seem to have an impact on ESR at APs. However, the current data do not allow for conclusions to be drawn concerning the clinical use of ESRMs.
有一种关于针灸的理论认为，病理过程可以导致穴位（APs）的皮肤电阻（ESR）发生可测量的变化。尽管该理论尚未得到证实，但 ESR 测量（ESRMs）已成为当代针灸中常用的一部分。本研究旨在测试在明确手术创伤情况下所谓的 APs 的“电反应性”。
使用专门用于 ESRM 的阻抗计阵列，对 163 名参与者的 GB34 和 ST38 的 APs 和周围皮肤进行了 ESRM（n=424）。对于每个组，计算了与周围皮肤相比 APs 的 ESR 差异具有显著差异的测量值的百分比，并相互比较。比较了四个组的测量值：健康对照组（n=30）和眼部手术后的患者（n=29），髋关节手术后的患者（n=42）和肩部手术后的患者（n=30）。还评估了术后疼痛强度的影响。
组间比较显示 ST38 无显着差异。GB34 的 ESRMs 在眼部手术（23.2%）和髋关节手术（22.2%）后，ESR 增加的测量值百分比明显更高，但肩部手术后则没有（7.5%）。亚组分析表明，疼痛强度的增加往往会导致 ESR 变化的 APs 数量减少。
这些结果表明，APs 处的 ESR 可能存在反应性变化。疼痛和警觉性似乎对 APs 处的 ESR 有影响。但是，目前的数据尚不能得出关于 ESRMs 临床应用的结论。
