Curative effect of wrist-ankle acupuncture on postpartum abdominal pain and its influence on serum β-EP level in puerpera.

OBJECTIVES

To observe the clinical effect of wrist-ankle acupuncture on postpartum abdominal pain and its influence on serum beta-endorphin (β-EP) level in puerpera.

METHODS

Seventy patients with postpartum abdominal pain were randomly divided into an acupuncture + herbal medication group (35 cases, 1 case dropped out) and a herbal medication group (35 cases, 2 cases dropped out). In the herbal medication group, 1 day after delivery, modified decoction was taken orally, one dose a day. In the acupuncture + herbal medication group, on the basis of herbal medication, wrist-ankle acupuncture was given at the Lower 1 and Lower 2 of the ankles, once daily. The duration of treatment was 3 days in the two groups. Before and after treatment, the score of visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, serum β-EP level, uterine fundus height, postpartum conditions of lochia and the uterine recovery at 42 days postpartum were compared in the patients of the two groups.

RESULTS

At each time point after treatment (24 h, 48 h and 72 h after delivery), VAS scores and the uterine fundus height were reduced as compared with those before treatment (2 h after delivery) in the two groups (<0.05); these indexes in the acupuncture + herbal medication group were lower than those in the herbal medication group (0.05). After treatment (72 h after delivery), β-EP levels in the serum were increased when compared with those before treatment in the two groups (<0.05), and the β-EP level in the acupuncture + herbal medication group was higher than that in the herbal medication group (<0.05). The volume of postpartum lochia discharge in the acupuncture + herbal medication group was higher than that in the herbal medication group (<0.05), while the duration of postpartum lochia discharge and the total time of lochia discharge were shorter (<0.05). Regarding the recovery of the uterus at 42 days postpartum, there was no statistical significance between the two groups (>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Wrist-ankle acupuncture obviously reduces the degree of postpartum abdominal pain and promotes the lochia discharge and the uterine recovery. The effect mechanism may be related to the up-regulation of serum β-EP level and the increase of pain threshold so that analgesia is obtained.