Deqi Sensation in Placebo Acupuncture: A Crossover Study on Chinese Medicine Students
Open Access
- 1 January 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Hindawi Limited in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Vol. 2013, 1-8
- https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/620671
Abstract
Objective. To evaluate the similarity of deqi sensation of real and noninvasive placebo acupuncture in healthy people with knowledge of Chinese medicine.Methods. In a crossover design, volunteers recruited from Chinese medicine college students were randomized to two groups to receive two phases of intervention with a one-week washout interval. In Group A, the participants were firstly treated by real acupuncture and then by sham needle, and the treatment sequence was reversed in Group B. VAS for pain intensity and deqi sensation was evaluated as outcomes.Results. Sixty-three volunteers were recruited and 60 were included and finished the study. In Group A, VAS was higher in Phase I than in Phase II (). Only treatment methods were selected as factor to VAS difference () in ANOVA test. More positive deqi was reported in Group A in Phase I when treated by real acupuncture (), but the difference was not significant in Phase II ().Conclusion. The noninvasive placebo acupuncture device can effetely simulate the deqi sensation as real acupuncture, but it is less likely to evoke the active effect of deqi in real practice. This trial is registered with Chinese Clinical Trial Registry:ChiCTR-ORC-09000505.
Keywords
Funding Information
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (81173348, 81274003, 2012A032500006, 2011B080701036, 2009B030801287, 2008B030301206, 2010144, A2012215, 2013KT1067, 2006BAI12B04-1)
This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- Getting the Grip on Nonspecific Treatment Effects: Emesis in Patients Randomized to Acupuncture or Sham Compared to Patients Receiving Standard CarePLOS ONE, 2011
- Perception of Deqi by Chinese and American acupuncturists: a pilot surveyChinese Medicine, 2011
- Is Sham Laser a Valid Control for Acupuncture Trials?Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2011
- Non-penetrating sham needle, is it an adequate sham control in acupuncture research?Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2010
- Validation of a Simplified Sham Acupuncture Technique for Its Use in Clinical Research: A Randomised, Single Blind, Crossover StudyAcupuncture in Medicine, 2010
- Neural mechanism underlying acupuncture analgesiaProgress in Neurobiology, 2008
- Southampton Needle Sensation Questionnaire: Development and Validation of a Measure to Gauge Acupuncture Needle SensationThe Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2008
- Characterization of the "deqi" response in acupunctureBMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2007
- Acupuncture Needle Sensations Associated with De Qi: A Classification Based on Experts' RatingsThe Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2006
- Acupuncture for Patients With MigraineJAMA, 2005