Comparison of the effects of deep manual acupuncture and acupressure on regional pressure pain threshold

Background: The two separate studies reported in this thesis represent the third and fifth in an ongoing series that commenced at the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in 1999 into the effect of acupuncture on regional pressure pain threshold (PPT). The studies extended manual acupuncture research and were the first to include a study involving acupressure. Aims: Study I: To compare the effects of unilateral and bilateral needling of the same acupoint on regional PPT. In addition the effects of individual and combined needling of two distinct acupoints on regional PPT were examined. Study II: To compare the effects of manual acupuncture and acupressure on regional PPT. Methods: The design was used in both studies that were dual blind within subjects experimental design with randomised repeated measures. There were 22 healthy subjects (11 males and 11 females) in study I and 24 healthy females in study II, and all subjects completed the four interventions used in their study. For Study I, the same needle application technique was used in four manual acupuncture interventions: Large Intestine 4 (LI4) unilaterally; LI4 bilaterally; Large Intestine 11 (LI 11) unilaterally; and LI4 in conjunction with LI11 both unilaterally. For Study II, unilaterally applied manual acupuncture to LI4; to Spleen 4 (SP4); unilaterally applied acupressure to LI4 and to a nonacupoint (NAP) used in two previous studies at UTS. PPT was measured at ten regional measurement sites across the body before and after each intervention; the change was expressed as mean percentage change in PPT from preintervention to post intervention. Both within and between intervention comparisons were examined; visual analogue scales were used to measure participants' perceptions of pain; needling or acupressure sensations; tension, and anxiety; and changes in acupuncturist’s behaviour.