Techniques of stimulation of the acupuncture points
ELECTROSTIMULATION (ES)
Stimulation of the points by the application of electric impulses is one of the most common methods used in western medical AP. The stimuli can be applied via electrodes attached to AP needles or via simple (non-invasive) skin electrodes, such as those used in ECG measurements. The stimulators are battery operated, easily portable and are available from AP supply houses. Waveform can be single pulses, adjustable from 1-50 Hz or more; dense-disperse forms (a train of high followed by a train of lower frequency pulses). Other waveforms are also used but the common one is single pulses (triangular, square or bipolar) in the range 1-10 Hz. For most purposes a 3 Hz wave is adequate but individual practitioners and patients have their own preferences. Output voltage is fully controllable from 1-160 volts or more. The current is very small, being measured in mA.
Modern stimulators use bipolar pulses to avoid the necessity of altering the polarity of the electrodes. (This was necessary with earlier stimulators which had positive and negative electrodes and which could cause electrolytic lesions if used more than a few minutes without reversing polarity).
Before the electrodes are attached, the needles should be checked to ensure that they are in the correct points i.e. that they can elicit the De Qi sensation (the needle reaction). Julian Kenyon, Liverpool, has evidence that simple needling for a short time is as effective as electro-needling for 10-30 minutes in most conditions responsive toAP, provided that De Qi is obtained when needling. De Qi is most important in effective ap therapy. It is claimed, however, that exact positioning of the needles is not so important with electro-AP as with manual AP because the electrical stimulus diffuses for quite a distance from the needle.
Electrodes are attached to the needles in pairs. The output control for each pair of needles is slowly advanced until the needles begin to twitch strongly (due to muscle twitch) at the same frequency as the frequency setting. (Care is taken that each member of the pair is on the same side of the body for needles inserted in the thorax. Electrical stimuli which cross the spinal area in the thorax may cause cardiac fibrillation). Normally, 10-30 minutes per session is allowed. At the end of the session the output voltage is turned to zero and the power is switched off. The electrodes are disconnected and the needles are removed.
Modern (Western) electrostimulators (such as those used in transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), transcutaneous electro-stimulation (TES) or Faradic stimulation) can be used without needles. The skin (contact) electrodes are coated with electrode jelly and are applied to the points using adhesive plaster. Otherwise they are used in the same way as the AP stimulators. Both types of stimulators can be obtained in mini- versions which fit in an inside pocket. Human patients or owners whose animals who require frequent stimulation may purchase their own and use them at any time via contact electrodes left semi-permanently in position.
ES is most often used in the relief of human chronic pain syndromes, in the relief of past-operative pain and in the treatment of withdrawal symptoms in narcotic/alcoholic detoxification clinics. ES can be used in ANY disease in which AP is indicated. In APanalgesia for surgery, stimulators are regarded as essential equipment. (Although APanalgesia can be produced by manipulation of the needles and other methods, most operations under AP analgesia use the stimulators).
In the treatment of addictions, special ear-clips are used to keep metal ball electrodes in contact with Earpoint LUNG (in the concha of the ears). Alternatively, ECG electrodes can be used to stimulate the area of the mastoid processes. Portable stimulators deliver mild, pleasant electrical stimuli to the ears. Detoxification (without withdrawal symptoms and without substitution therapy) is complete in 6-10 days in 90% of patients.
TES is also useful in childbirth and dental surgery as a method of analgesia and in the relief of cancer pain.
In vet medicine the uses of these techniques are similar to those in humans but the two main uses would be (a) in the treatment of pain, lameness and nerve paralysis and (b) to induce analgesia fur surgery. In spite of its effectiveness, ES is not used often as a therapy in farm animals or pets because of the relatively long time (10-30 minutes) required for each session. For most purposes in human and animal patients, once De Qi is obtained, simple AP can elicit results as good as EAP. In valuable animals, such as stud animals, racehorses and greyhounds, however, EAP is used more widely, but more as a "hi-tech" public relations exercise than as an essential method of stimulation.
MAGNETIC AND STATIC STIMULATION
It is possible to elicit analgesic and therapeutic effects in humans by stimulating the APpoints by magnetic, static, electro- magnetic and electrostatic fields without actually touching the body. These claims are made in the American Journal of AP. Japanese workers have claimed to have done Caesarean section on women whose hands and feet were encased in an ES- field. Under experimental conditions in humans, static and electrostatic fields applied to the hands cause analgesia in areas identical to`those which respond to simple needling of LI04. The Chinese make portable stimulators which work on the EM and ES principle.
These methods are rarely used at present (in humans or animals) but they should be mentioned as possible methods for the future. They also set an objective precedent for a physiological effect induced by an intangible field (see the paper on "Holistic concepts of health and disease" and the section below on psychic healing).
Special magnetic beads or discs, for instance "Corimags", can be taped or super-glued onto the points for long-term stimulation.