Department of Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Nov 25;101(47):e31492. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000031492.
Warm needling is a type of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which uses burned moxa to generate warmth and exerts a therapeutic effect on human skin. Additionally, based on TCM theory, warm needling could improve deficiency-cold syndrome. Research has found that warm needling has analgesic effects as well as effects on the immune system, endocrine system, nervous system, and lower urinary tract symptoms. However, the mechanism of warm needling on the meridians is not fully understood. In modern studies, the electric characteristics of the meridians have been discovered and the combination of semiconductor and TCM theory could explain the meridian phenomena through physics. However, there is no known research exploring the relationship between thermal effect and electric property on the meridians.
A total of 30 healthy participants older than 20 years of age will be recruited for this study. The participants would first be administered acupuncture, following which the electric characteristics will be measured using the semiconductor analyzer Agilent B1500A/Agilent 4156C. The visual analog score (VAS) will also be rated. Thereafter, a burned moxa will be added to the acupuncture needles as a method for warm needling. The electric characteristics and VAS will be measured again. We will use the paired t-test and repeated measure two-way ANOVA to compare the electric characteristics and VAS before and after warm needling in each participant.
This protocol aims to explore the thermal effect on the electric characteristics of meridians in a warm needling model and provide a scientific explanation of TCM through the aspect of physics.
温针灸是一种中医治疗方法，使用燃烧的艾绒产生热量，对人体皮肤产生治疗作用。此外，根据中医理论，温针灸可以改善虚寒证。研究发现，温针灸具有镇痛作用，同时对免疫系统、内分泌系统、神经系统和下尿路症状也有影响。然而，温针灸对经络的作用机制尚未完全了解。在现代研究中，已经发现了经络的电特性，半导体与中医理论的结合可以通过物理学来解释经络现象。然而，目前还没有研究探索经络热效应与电特性之间的关系。
本研究共招募 30 名年龄在 20 岁以上的健康参与者。首先对参与者进行针刺，然后使用半导体分析仪 Agilent B1500A/Agilent 4156C 测量其电特性。同时还会对视觉模拟评分（VAS）进行评估。之后，在针刺针上添加燃烧的艾绒作为温针灸的方法。再次测量电特性和 VAS。我们将使用配对 t 检验和重复测量双向方差分析来比较每个参与者在温针灸前后的电特性和 VAS。
本方案旨在探索温针灸模型中热效应对经络电特性的影响，并从物理学角度为中医提供科学解释。
