Through its
modulating brain activity acupuncture treatment is effective in alleviating pain
and paresthesia in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. However which brain
areas are responsive to specific stimulation and pain reduction are not clear.
Researchers in
the United State, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique,
assessed brain response to acupuncture and correlated changes in clinical symptoms
in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Patients with
carpal tunnel syndrome were allocated to three groups. Group one was given acupuncture
at local acupoints (PC7 and TW5) on the affected wrist. Group two was given
acupuncture at distal acupoints (SP6 and LV4) on contralateral ankle, based on
mirror point methods common in acupuncture practice. Group three was given sham
acupuncture at non-acupoints. Symptom ratings were measured prior to and after
fMRI scan. It was found that both local and distal acupoints significantly
alleviated symptoms. Brain response to local acupoints in the somatosensory
cortex and supplementary motor cortex and brain response to distal acupoints in
the prefrontal cortex were associated with greater pain relief following
acupuncture.
The study
suggests that both acupoints either close to or distal to affected area are
able to elicit therapeutic effect but induced responses in different brain
areas.
Reference:
Maeda Y et al., Acupuncture-Evoked Response in
Somatosensory and Prefrontal Cortices Predicts Immediate Pain Reduction in
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:795906. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/795906
No comments:
Post a Comment