An Exploration of the Needling Depth in Acupuncture: The Safe Needling Depth and the Needling Depth of Clinical Efficacy

Table 7

Mean values for needling depths of acupoints in the chest in different-sized male subjects.

Acupoints	Overweight adults	Normal adults	Underweight adults	𝐹
	Mean ± 95% C.I.	Mean ± 95% C.I.	Mean ± 95% C.I.
Tiantu (CV22)	3.94±0.19	2.87±0.26	2.34±0.65	19.61*
Xuanji (CV21)	0.94±0.11	0.64±0.10	2.30±0.10	38.22*
Huagai (CV20)	0.89±0.11	0.057±0.10	0.25±0.10	39.46*
Zigong (CV19)	0.89±0.11	0.60±0.10	0.29±0.10	35.79*
Yutang (CV18)	0.88±0.14	0.53±0.10	0.28±0.09	31.32*
Danzhong (CV17)	0.86±0.11	0.52±0.11	0.25±0.09	36.96*
Zhongting (CV16)	0.95±0.14	0.56±0.13	0.34±0.11	25.57*
Shufu (KI27)	4.19±0.46	3.29±0.48	2.32±0.49	16.20*
Yuzhong (KI26)	2.98±0.27	2.20±0.25	1.50±0.27	34.18*
Shencang (KI25)	2.59±0.21	2.00±0.21	1.26±0.22	42.93*
Lingxu (KI24)	2.56±0.17	2.13±0.23	1.49±0.19	32.09*
Shenfeng (KI23)	2.47±0.17	1.96±0.17	1.44±0.17	40.78*
Bulang (KI22)	2.33±0.15	1.95±0.17	1.46±0.15	33.64*
Qihu (ST13)	5.24±0.48	4.15±0.55	2.88±0.47	23.71*
Kufang (ST14)	3.82±0.36	3.10±0.31	2.02±0.29	32.21*
Wuyi (ST15)	3.11±0.27	2.64±0.52	1.38±0.17	26.51*
Yingchuang (ST16)	2.78±0.21	2.35±0.53	1.33±0.22	19.52*
Ruzhong (ST17)	2.59±0.19	2.07±0.38	1.23±0.20	27.28*
Rugen (ST18)	2.27±0.16	1.78±0.22	1.19±0.20	33.89*
Tianchi (PC1)	2.64±0.21	2.25±0.72	1.18±0.21	11.97*
Yunmen (LU1)	6.73±0.55	5.14±0.57	3.26±0.79	32.78*
Zhongfu (LU2)	5.05±0.62	3.69±0.47	2.20±0.70	24.06*
Zhourong (SP20)	3.71±0.50	2.70±0.35	1.68±0.51	21.06*
Xiongxiang (SP19)	3.15±0.37	2.26±0.23	1.53±0.43	23.38*
Tianxi (SP18)	2.88±0.29	2.05±0.25	1.32±0.19	40.68*
Shidou (SP17)	2.61±0.21	1.91±0.22	1.28±0.18	45.01*
Zhejin (GB23)	3.48±0.39	2.43±0.26	1.73±0.37	28.00*
Yuanye (GB22)	4.52±0.41	3.07±0.34	2.20±0.33	43.58*

𝑋∶ mean depth; units are provided in centimeters.
𝑋±1.96 SD: 95% confidence interval.
* 𝑃<0.01; 𝐹 is the statistic for one-way ANOVA.
The definitions for “Overweight adults,” “Normal adults,” and “Underweight adults” are following the guidance of the Department of Health, Taiwan: “The suggested ideal body weight of Taiwanese people.” As such, readers from outside Taiwan should bear in mind that ideal body weights differ between countries. The specified needling depths in the table are a suggested guide only.