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Different patterns of blood flow response in the trapezius muscle following needle stimulation (acupuncture) between healthy subjects and patients with fibromyalgia and work-related trapezius myalgia
Linköping University, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine . Linköping University, Faculty of Health Sciences.
Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Linköping University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Physiological Measurements. Linköping University, The Institute of Technology.
Linköping University, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine . Linköping University, Faculty of Health Sciences.
2005 (English)In: European Journal of Pain, ISSN 1090-3801, Vol. 9, no 5, p. 497-510Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Needle stimulation (acupuncture) has recently been shown to increase blood flow in the tibialis anterior muscle and overlying skin in healthy subjects (HS) and patients with fibromyalgia (FM). The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of needle stimulation on local blood flow in the trapezius muscle and overlying skin in HS and two groups of patients suffering from chronic pain in the trapezius muscle, i.e., FM and work-related trapezius myalgia (TM) patients. Two modes of needling, deep muscle stimulation (Deep) and subcutaneous needle insertion (SC), were performed at the upper part of the shoulder and blood flow was monitored for 60 min post-stimulation. Blood flow changes were measured non-invasively by using a new application of photoplethysmography. Increased blood flow in the trapezius muscle and overlying skin was found in all three groups following both Deep and SC. In HS, Deep was superior to SC in increasing skin and muscle blood flow, whereas in FM, SC was as effective as, or even more effective, than Deep. In the severely affected TM patients, no differences were found between the stimuli, and generally, a lesser blood flow response to the stimuli was found. At Deep, the muscle blood flow increase was significantly larger in HS, compared to the two patient groups. Positive correlations were found between muscle blood flow at Deep and pressure pain threshold in the trapezius muscle, neck movement and pain experienced at the stimulation, and negative correlations were found with spontaneous pain-related variables, symptom duration and age, pointing to less favorable results with worsening of symptoms, and to the importance of nociceptor activation in blood flow increase. It was hypothesized that the different patterns of muscle blood flow response to the needling may mirror a state of increased sympathetic activity and a generalized hypersensitivity in the patients. The intensity of stimulation should be taken into consideration when applying local needle stimulation (acupuncture) in order to increase the trapezius muscle blood flow in chronic pain conditions.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2005. Vol. 9, no 5, p. 497-510
Keywords [en]
Acupuncture; Fibromyalgia; Muscle blood flow; Non-invasive; Trapezius myalgia; Trapezius muscle
National Category
Medical and Health Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-12846DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpain.2004.11.002OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-12846DiVA, id: diva2:17197
Available from: 2008-01-09 Created: 2008-01-09 Last updated: 2009-06-03
In thesis
1. Acupuncture - effects on muscle blood flow and aspects of treatment in the clinicla context
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Acupuncture - effects on muscle blood flow and aspects of treatment in the clinicla context
2004 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The overall aim of this thesis was to elucidate and investigate psychophysiological aspects and effects of acupuncture and needle stimulation. Within this framework emphasis was directed toward the effects of needle stimulation (acupuncture) on muscle blood flow in the tibialis anterior and trapezius muscles in healthy subjects and patients suffering from chronic muscle pain. This study also included evaluation of a new application of photoplethysmography in noninvasive monitoring of muscle blood flow. The evaluation was based on experiments known to provocate skin or muscle blood flow. The psychological aspects studied comprised the effects of manual acupuncture on pain in fibromyalgia patients and the effects of electro-acupuncture on psychological distress and vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women in the clinical context.

The results showed that photoplethysmography have potential to noninvasively monitor muscle blood flow and to discriminate between blood flow in skin and muscle, although some considerations still have to be accounted for. It was further shown that muscle blood flow change in response to needle stimulation differed between healthy subjects and patients. Deep needle stimulation in the muscle of healthy subjects consistently increased muscle blood flow more than subcutaneous needle stimulation. In the painful trapezius muscle of FMS patients, however, subcutaneous needling was equal or even more effective in increasing muscle blood flow than deep intramuscular stimulation. Generally, needle stimuli had weak effect on blood flow in the trapezius muscle of the severely affected trapezius myalgia patients, possibly depending on older age and lesser number of patients included in the study. The different patterns of blood flow response to needle stimulation between healthy subjects and patients with chronic muscle pain might be a manifestation of altered somatosensory processing in the patients.

The clinical studies showed that best pain relief of acupuncture in FMS patients was achieved in the neck-shoulder region, while the effect on the generalised symptoms was of short duration. Well-being and sleep was found to best predict treatment outcome. The results suggest that acupuncture treatment may be used for the alleviation of neck-shoulder pain, primarily, but it is not an alternative as the sole treatment. Electro-acupuncture, significantly decreased psychological distress and climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal women, but not better than a (near-) placebo control, implying pronounced non-specific effects.

Abstract [sv]

Akupunktur ingår som en del i traditionell kinesisk medicin (TCM) och har använts i över 2000 år för att lindra sjukdom och symptom. I Sverige blev akupunktur godkänd som smärtlindringsmetod inom Hälso- och Sjukvården 1984. Sedan nästan 10 år är akupunktur jämställd med övrig behandling i sjukvården vilket innebär, att akupunktur kan användas även för behandling av annat än smärta. Förutsättningen är emellertid, att det finns tillräckligt med vetenskapliga belägg, s.k. evidens, för detta. I de allra flesta fall saknas det idag. För att säkerställa att evidens föreligger krävs omfattande forskning om effekter av akupunktur.

Syftet med de olika studierna i avhandlingen var att belysa och studera psykologiska och fysiologiska aspekter och effekter av akupunktur och nålstimulering. Effekt på blodflöde i hud och muskel undersöktes på friska personer och på patienter med kronisk muskelsmärta. Normalt krävs ett mindre kirurgiskt ingrepp för att mäta blodflöde i muskel, men i dessa studier användes en mätmetod, som enkelt och utan ingrepp (icke-invasivt) i normala fall används för att mäta blodflöde i huden, s.k. fotopletysmografi (PPG, eng.). Med hjälp av ny teknik användes PPG i dessa studier för att mäta även muskelblodflöde. En studie för utvärdering av den nya PPG-tekniken ingick också i avhandlingen.

Utvärderingen av mätmetoden visade goda möjligheter att mäta muskelblodflöde icke-invasivt med hjälp av PPG. Hos friska personer blev effekten på blodflödet störst vid djup stimulering i muskeln och där den s.k. DeQi-känslan framkallades (som vid klassisk akupunktur). Hos patienter med fibromyalgi var nålstimulering i huden lika, eller t.o.m. mer, effektiv att öka muskelblodflödet i skuldran än den djupa nålstimuleringen. De olika mönstren av blodflödesökning mellan de friska personerna och patienterna kan bero på ett förändrat reaktionssätt i nervsystemet som svar på smärtsam stimulering.

I två kliniska studier studerades den smärtlindrande effekten av manuell akupunktur vid fibromyalgi och effekten av elektroakupunktur på stress och klimakteriebesvär hos kvinnor i övergångsåldern. Akupunktur vid fibromyalgi visade sig ha bäst smärtlindrande effekt i nack-skulderområdet, medan effekten på de generella symptomen var kortvarig. Patienter som mådde och sov relativt bra erhöll bäst effekt. Efter en behandlingsserie, bestående av elektroakupunktur, minskade stress och klimakteriebesvär påtagligt hos kvinnorna i övergångsåldern, men inte mer än hos en grupp kvinnor, som fick en kontrollbehandling bestående av mycket ytligt placerade nålar i huden. Detta tyder på att en betydlig del av behandlingsresultatet utgjordes av ospecifika effekter eller, s.k. eller placeboeffekter.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linköping: Linköping University Electronic Press, 2004. p. 83
Series
Linköping University Medical Dissertations, ISSN 0345-0082 ; 867
Keywords
Acupuncture, muscle blood flow, non-invasive, photoplethysmography, fibromyalgia, pain, postmenopausal symptoms, psychological distress
National Category
Physiotherapy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-10456 (URN)91-7373-841-7 (ISBN)
Public defence
2004-11-19, Berzeliussalen, Campus US Linköping University, Linköping, 09:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2008-01-09 Created: 2008-01-09 Last updated: 2023-01-25Bibliographically approved

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Sandberg, MargaretaLarsson, BrittLindberg, Lars-GöranGerdle, Björn

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