Investigators based in Norway have explored the correlation between choice of acupoints and the recurrence rate of cystitis among cystitis-prone women receiving acupuncture as a prophylactic treatment. Fifty-eight cystitis-prone women were included in the analysis. Acupuncture treatments, given twice a week for four weeks, were customised based on patients’ TCM pattern diagnoses, and patients were followed up over a six-month period. The main acupoints used for patients with Kidney qi/yang deficiency were Shenshu BL-23, Taixi KID-3, Zhongji REN-3, Sanyinjiao SP-6 and Pangguangshu BL-28; for Liver qi stagnation, Taichong LIV-3, Zhongji REN-3, Pangguangshu BL-28, Yinlingquan SP-9 and Sanyinjiao SP-6 were used; and for Spleen qi/yang deficiency patients Sanyinjiao SP-6, Zhongji REN-3, Pangguangshu BL-28, Zusanli ST-36 and Yinlingquan SP-9 were used. Treating Kidney pattern patients with the acupoint combination of Shenshu BL-23 and Taixi KID-3 resulted in better outcomes than using other point combinations for other Chinese medicine diagnoses. The combination of Shenshu BL-23 and Taixi KID-3 was used in 16 women (13 of which were diagnosed with Kidney patterns). Women in which this acupoint combination was used experienced one third of the number of symptomatic cystitis episodes over the six-month follow-up period, compared with women where this combination was not used. Use of Shenshu BL-23 was correlated with a significant reduction in residual urine volume, measured a few days after treatment, whilst patients with Spleen qi/yang deficiency showed an initial increase in residual urine after treatments.
Acupuncture points used in the prophylaxis against recurrent uncomplicated cystitis, patterns identified and their possible relationship to physiological measurements.
Chin J Integr Med. 2014 Dec 9.
Quelle: www.jcm.co.uk