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| Intervention | Item | Description |
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| Experimental animals | (a) Animal model | Nonpain model |
| (b) Details for animals | Sprague-Dawley rats of 8 to 9 weeks of age, weighing 250–300 g each |
| (c) Experimental environment | Room temperature 24 ± 1°C, room humidity 63 ± 5% |
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| Type of acupuncture | (a) Statement about the type of acupuncture used | Electroacupuncture (ES-160, ITO, Tokyo, Japan) |
| (b) Rationale for treatment | Literature review and previous studies |
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| List of points | (a) Name of points | PC5, PC6, ST36, ST37, BL14, BL15 |
| (b) Literature sources to justify rationale | Previous literature and animal studies (listed among references) |
| (c) Location of point | (i) PC5: approximately 2-3 cm proximal to PC6, just above the median nerve
(ii) PC6: inside the arm, approximately 4 cm proximal to the base of the palmar wrist crease, just above the median nerve
(iii) ST36: on the anterior aspect of the knee, approximately 9 cm below the depression point lateral to the patellar ligament and 5 mm lateral to the anterior tubercle of the tibia
(iv) ST37: approximately 9 cm below (distal) ST36
(v) BL14: on the outside dorsal spine corresponding to the 4th thoracic vertebrae
(vi) BL15: on the outside dorsal spine corresponding to the 5th thoracic vertebrae |
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| Needle stimulation | (a) Depth of insertion | PC5, PC6: 5 mm ST36, ST37, BL14, BL15: 1 cm |
| (b) Needle stimulation technique | Electroacupuncture (2 Hz) |
| (c) Needle retention time | 30 min |
| (d) Specification of needle | 0.20 × 30 mm, Dongbang Acupuncture Inc., Gyeonggi-Do, Korea |
| (e) Responses elicited | Motor threshold response (movement of the paw and visible muscle twitches of the stimulated leg) |
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| Treatment regimen | (a) Number of treatment sessions | Five sessions |
| (b) Frequency of treatment | Once per day |
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| Cointervention | Other interventions | None |
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| Practitioner background | (a) Duration of relevant training | Six years |
| (b) Length of clinical experience | Four years |
| (c) Expertise in specific condition | None |
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| Control interventions | (a) Active comparison point | Away from acupuncture points and away from near meridians, at a shallower depth of insertion |
| (b) Control stimulation | Manual acupuncture |
| (c) Details of control intervention | Control points for PC5, PC6: two points located between the Triple Energizer meridian and the Small Intestine meridian
Control points for ST36, ST37: two points located between the Gall Bladder meridian and the Bladder meridian |
| (d) Sources that justify choice of control | Previous studies (the selection of acupuncture points was based on the results of previous studies) |
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