A acupunctura melhora a marcha em pacientes geriátricos

Acupuncture improves walking gait in elderly


A single acupuncture treatment at Yanglingquan GB-34 has been shown to significantly improve walking gait in geriatric patients. Sixty German patients receiving rehabilitation treatment on a geriatric ward were randomised to receive a one-time needle stimulation at Yanglingquan GB-34 or a technically identical needle stimulation at a non-acupoint. Gait performance was objectively measured on an electronic walkway before and after needling. All gait parameters showed statistically significant improvement after verum acupuncture compared with control treatment. (Stimulation of acupoint ST-34 acutely improves gait performance in geriatric patients during rehabilitation: A randomized controlled trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2011 Jan;92(1):7-14).


Neste estudo, um único tratamento com acupunctura em GB-34 mostrou melhorar significativamente a marcha em pacientes geriátricos. Sessenta pacientes alemães a fazer tratamento de reabilitação numa enfermaria geriátrica foram randomizados para receber um estímulo da agulha em GB-34 (acupunctura "verum") ou um estímulo da agulha tecnicamente idêntico noutro local do corpo que não seja ponto de acupunctura (acupunctura "sham"). O desempenho da marcha foi medido objectivamente numa passadeira eléctrica antes e depois da inserção. Todos os parâmetros da marcha apresentaram melhoria significativa após a acupunctura "verum" comparada com o tratamento controle (acupunctura "sham").


Apesar de se tratar de uma amostra pequena (sessenta pacientes), o resultado é promissor.

Acupunctura para a cervicalgia

Acupunctura para alívio da dor no trabalho de parto

Electroacupuncture at Sanyinjiao Sp-6 helps with labour pain

A Chinese study has concluded that electroacupuncture (EA) at Sanyinjiao SP-6 is an effective way of decreasing labour pain. A total of 350 women in labour were randomised to either electroacupuncture at Sanyinjiao SP-6, sham electroacupuncture at Sanyinjiao SP-6 or a control group. Self-rated labour pain scores from women in the verum electroacupuncture group were significantly less than in the control group after 30 minutes of needle retention and at two and four hours after needle withdrawal. Other evaluated outcomes did not show significant differences among the three groups. (Effects of Sanyinjiao (SP6) with electroacupuncture on labour pain in women during labour. Complement Ther Med. 2011 Jan;19 Suppl 1:S13-8).

Este estudo chinês concluiu que a eletroacupunctura (EA) em SP-6 é uma forma eficaz de diminuir a dor do parto. Um total de 350 mulheres em trabalho de parto foram randomizadas para eletroacupunctura em SP-6 (verum - verdadeira), eletroacupuntura sham (controlo) em SP-6 ou um grupo de controle. Os scores de auto-avaliação da dor no trabalho de parto das mulheres no grupo de eletroacupunctura verum foram significativamente menores do que no grupo controle após 30 minutos de retenção de agulha e em duas e quatro horas após a retirada da agulha (menor score corresponde a menos dor). Os outros parâmetros avaliados neste estudo não apresentaram diferenças significativas entre os três grupos.

The effect of acupuncture on postmenopausal symptoms and reproductive hormones: a sham controlled clinical trial -- Sunay et al. 29 (1): 27 -- Acupuncture in Medicine

Abstract

Background Acupuncture is commonly used to treat menopausal symptoms and other gynaecological conditions. In this study, the authors aimed to investigate whether acupuncture has an effect on menopausal symptoms and to explore whether this effect is related to changes in hormone levels.

Materials and methods A total of 53 postmenopausal women were alternately assigned into two treatment groups: acupuncture (n=27) and sham acupuncture (n=26). Menopausal symptoms were assessed using the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). The serum oestradiol, follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH) levels were measured at baseline and again after the first and last sessions. The Student t test was used for normally distributed data and the Wilcoxon signed rank test for not normally distributed data. The group differences in MRS scores were assessed using non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test.

Results After treatment, total MRS, and the somatic and psychological subscale scores were significantly lower in the acupuncture group than the sham group (all p=0.001). The severity of hot flushes was found to be significantly decreased after treatment in acupuncture group (p=0.001). In the acupuncture group LH levels were lower and oestradiol levels were significantly higher than sham group (p=0.046 and p=0.045, respectively) after treatment, but there was no difference in FSH levels.

Conclusion Acupuncture was effective in reducing menopausal complaints when compared to sham acupuncture and can be considered as an alternative therapy in the treatment of menopausal symptoms.

Immediate effect of acupuncture on the sleep pattern of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea

Abstract

Background Most patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) do not tolerate treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure, the ‘gold standard’ treatment for this condition. It was shown in a pilot study that acupuncture was more effective than placebo treatment (sham acupuncture) in producing significant changes in the respiratory events assessed by polysomnography (PSG).

Objectives To investigate the immediate effect of manual acupuncture (MA) and electroacupuncture (EA) on the sleep pattern of patients presenting with moderate OSA.

Methods 40 patients with an Apnoea–Hypopnoea Index (AHI) of 15–30/h were randomly allocated to MA treatment (n=10), EA 10 Hz treatment (n=10), EA 2 Hz treatment (n=10) and a no-treatment control group (n=10). The patients received MA or EA (2 or 10 Hz) just before the PSG study at 20:00.

Results The AHI (p=0.005; p=0.005), the Apnoea Index (p=0.038; p=0.009) and the respiratory events (p=0.039; p=0.014) decreased significantly in the MA and EA 10 Hz groups, respectively (AHI (21.9, 11.2), Apnoea Index (5.15, 0.7), respiratory events (120.5, 61.0) in the MA group before and after. AHI (20.6, 9.9), Apnoea Index (8.2, 0.3), respiratory events (117.0, 56.0) in the EA 10 Hz group before and after). The micro-arousals decreased only in the MA group (146.0 vs 88.5, p=0.0002). There were no significant changes in the EA 2 Hz group or in the control group.

Conclusion A single session of either MA or EA 10 Hz had an acute effect in reducing the AHI as well as the number of nocturnal respiratory events of patients presenting with moderate OSA.