Department of Health, Faculty of Health Science, Tsukuba University of Technology, Tsukuba 305-0821, Japan.
J Integr Med. 2013 Mar;11(2):101-5. doi: 10.3736/jintegrmed2013012.
The aim of this study was to examine the changes in natural killer (NK) cell activity, pulse rate, and pain intensity among older adults before and after acupuncture treatment.
Fifty-six individuals (16 males and 40 females), age 60 to 82 years (mean age 72.4 ± 5.0), who were experiencing pain in the shoulder, low back, or knee, participated in the study. NK cell activity, leukocyte differentiation (granulocytes and lymphocytes), pulse rate, and blood pressure values obtained. Pain intensity was used to analyze NK cell activity, leukocytes (granulocyte counts and granulocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio), and the VAS score in accordance with the location of pain complaints before and after acupuncture treatment.
NK cell activity decreased after acupuncture treatment for pain in the shoulder-pain and knee-pain groups. Further, the lymphocyte and granulocyte counts increased after acupuncture treatment for the shoulder-pain group. Pulse rate decreased for the shoulder-pain, low-back-pain, and knee-pain groups after acupuncture treatment. The VAS score decreased after acupuncture treatment for the shoulder-pain, low-back-pain, and knee-pain groups.
This study showed that in older adults, acupuncture treatment decreases pulse rate, relieves pain in the shoulder, low back, and knee, and reduces NK-cell activity.
本研究旨在观察针刺治疗前后老年人自然杀伤（NK）细胞活性、脉搏率和疼痛强度的变化。
56 名年龄在 60 至 82 岁之间（平均年龄 72.4 ± 5.0）的老年人参与了这项研究，他们患有肩部、腰部或膝盖疼痛。在针刺治疗前后，我们测量了 NK 细胞活性、白细胞分化（粒细胞和淋巴细胞）、脉搏率和血压值。疼痛强度用于分析 NK 细胞活性、白细胞（粒细胞计数和粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值）以及根据疼痛部位的 VAS 评分。
针刺治疗肩部疼痛和膝部疼痛组后，NK 细胞活性降低。此外，肩部疼痛组针刺治疗后淋巴细胞和粒细胞计数增加。针刺治疗后，肩部疼痛、腰部疼痛和膝部疼痛组的脉搏率降低。针刺治疗后，肩部疼痛、腰部疼痛和膝部疼痛组的 VAS 评分降低。
本研究表明，在老年人中，针刺治疗可降低脉搏率，缓解肩部、腰部和膝部疼痛，并降低 NK 细胞活性。
