Comparative effects of acupuncture and transcutaneous stimulation on the perception of painful dental stimuli
Item
Title
Comparative effects of acupuncture and transcutaneous stimulation on the perception of painful dental stimuli
Author(s)
Journal Publication
Date
1976
volume
2(3)
pages
265-283
Research Type
RCT
Keywords
Abstract
The effects of acupunctural stimulation on the perception of induced dental pain were compared with those of placebo acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) at an acupuncture site. Each of 4 groups of 15 subjects received one of the following treatments: acupuncture, placebo acupuncture, TES, or control conditions. Every subject was tested twice, once in a baseline session and on another day in a test session. Four levels of painful dental stimuli were delivered repeatedly and in random order to each subject in each session, who rated the perceived intensity of each stimulus on a pain category scale. All three treatment groups showed a significant reduction in magnitude of stimulus ratings after treatment. A Sensory Decision Theory analysis of the data was employed to assess the sensory sensitivity of each subject to each of 4 levels of dental stimulation and the willingness of the subject to label the strongest stimulus as painful. Acupuncture and TES groups showed a small but significant sensory analgesic response to treatment and a significant reduction in willingness to identify the strongest stimulus as painful when contrasted to controls, but placebo acupuncture subjects failed to show significant change on either of the response measures. The effects of acupuncture were most pronounced at the lowest level of stimulation, while TES affected the perception of all levels of dental stimuli. The observed effects appeared to be small, reliable, and dependent on the stimulation of a particular anatomical locus.
pmid
Date of Input: 8/6/2015; Date Modified: 8/20/2015; Priority: Normal; Anesthesia and Analgesia; eng; Web: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=800251
has health condition studied
Healthy Subjects
plan
<1/WK
has study population number
60
has duration
1 Day