The Effects of Acupuncture on Cerebral and Muscular Microcirculation: A Systematic Review of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Studies

Table 3

Acupuncture interventions. Summary of the acupuncture interventions, including placebo treatments. No medications, except in one case study, were involved in these studies [34].

Technique	Duration	Session (s)	Retention time	Points	De-qi
MB [28]	37 days	22-23 sessions/37 days: 15/15 + 0/7 + 7-8/15	30 min: every 5 min, apply 1 min stim (6x)	Varies with symptom and timing of treatment (3–15 points)	Yes
MB + S [28]	37 days	15/15 + 0/7 + 7-8/15 sessions/days	30 min: every 5 min, apply 1 min stim (6x)	Varies with symptom and timing of treatment (7–22 points)	Yes
EX [29]	1 day	1	30–40 min: 2 15 min stim + 5 min rest btw	One of GV 20 or CV 8
MB, MA, MH, C, C + L, C + L′, Pt^* [27]	1 day	1.86 (avg.), >30 min btw, randomized^*	10 s stim + 10 min (retention or laser)	MB: BL 2, Ex-HN 4; MA: “eye” (ear) and “liver” (ear); MH: Yandian, “eye” (E2) Korean hand points; C: all the above; Pt: placebo point^*
Light stimulation, MB, L, Pt [30]	1 day	4: one of each	20 s stim of each	LI 4, St 36, BL 60, BL 65, BL 66, BL 67	Yes
L, Pl [30]	1 day	2: one of each	20 s stim of each	GB 14, PC 6
L, Pl [30]	1 day	2: one of each	20 s stim of each	GB 14, PC 6, CV 6, St 36, SP 6, LV 3
EA [32]	1 week	4 sessions of different stim patterns	Several hours: varied (5, 15 min, or 3 hr stim)	Ear points: “eye” and “liver”	x
MB [33]	1 day	1	20 min retention after de-qi	PC 6, CV 6, ST 36, SP 6	Yes
MB, R, L [38]	1 day	3: randomized, one of each, >10 min btw	5 min for each; (MB: 20 s stim + 2 min btw)	St 7, SJ 22
MB + L [34]	13 weeks	11 (10 needle + 1 laser) sessions/13 weeks	20 min	He 5, He 7, Sp 6, BL 10, BL 17, BL 23, St 36	Yes
L [37]	1 day	1	5 min stim + 10 min undisturbed	LI 4
MB [35]	1 day	2: 5 min btw alternate types	13 min: 3 min after insert, 8 (15 s stim + 1 min no stim)	2 types^**: TPs with de-qi; non-TPs with or without de-qi	Yes
MB [31]	1 day	1	6 min: 2 20 s stim + 5 min btw	LI 4
MB [40]	1 day	1	2 min	GB 21	No
MB [41]	1 day	1	15 min	Tender points of the trapezius (6 needles obliquely inserted)
MB [41]	2 days	1	15 min	Tender points of the trapezius (6–10 needles perpendicularly inserted)
R [39]	1 day	1	5 min	GB33
L [42]	1 day	1	10 min	Pe 6
Pl [42]	1 day	1	10 min	Pe 6
MB [36]	7 days	3	10 min	LI 4, SI 3	Yes

C: combination acupuncture; EA: electroauricular acupuncture; EX: electromoxibustion; L: laser acupuncture; L′: laser at 30% greater intensity; MA: manual auricular acupuncture; MB: manual body acupuncture; MH: manual hand acupuncture; Pl: placebo laser (laser off); Pt: placebo point needling; R: manual acupressure; S: scalp acupuncture; btw: between; stim: stimulation; min: minutes; s: seconds; 164 total sessions of 7 possible types of acupuncture randomized among the recipients ( = 88); the number of instances of each type (MB, MA, MH, C, C + L, C + L′, and Pt) is 23, 23, 23, 27, 27, 18, and 23, respectively. The placebo point was located 6 cun above the wrist on the radial ledge, off the lung meridian in the forearm.
^**Trigger points (TPs) are located in the right extensor muscle of the forearm; non-TPs are 2 cm away from TPs. De-qi was induced from all TPs, but not all non-TP stim’s.