Is Acupoints Sensation Necessary for Acu-TENS to Elicit Physiological Changes in Healthy Subjects? (Acu-TENS)

March 2, 2013 updated by: Yu Tai Wai David, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners believe that health can be maintained if the body has a balanced ying-yang or the qi flows in correct strength and quality along the meridians.Stimulation of the acupoints such as by acupuncture can awaken and modulate qi in the channels and is able to regulate and restore yin-yang balance.However, there are some drawbacks associated with acupuncture which may limit its applications. These include transmission of infectious disease, pneumothorax and other problems associated with organ punctures, cardiac tamponade, and broken needles with remnants migrating to other locations.Studies have shown that when TENS is applied over acupoints (Acu-TENS), it is effective in reducing dyspnoea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,facilitate early haemodynamic recovery after open-heart surgery,relieve labor pain,increase in blood β-endorphin level,reduce blood pressure changes in normal healthy subjects and decrease airway resistance.Despite these promising results, how Acu-TENS works still remain unclear.This study aimed to investigate the effects of Acu-TENS over Hegu (LI4) and Quichi (LI4) on the autonomic nervous system activities and to investigate whether the subject could experience distinct sensation as deqi.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Eligibility criteria: Normal healthy subjects who were naïve to Acu-TENS and able to read Chinese.

Outcome Measures: Heart rate, Mean arterial blood pressure, Heart rate variability

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

36

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, 852
        • Recruiting
        • Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

20 years to 40 years (ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Normal healthy subjects who were naïve to Acu-TENS and able to read Chinese were recruited for study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • history of cardiopulmonary, neurological and psychologic disorders or they required taking drugs within one week that might affect the cardiovascular and neurological status

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: FACTORIAL
  • Masking: SINGLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Acu-TENS to LI4 and LI11

Acu-TENS Group (Experimental Group), subjects received TENS over right L14 and LI11.

Systolic and diastolic blood pressures will be taken on the left arm by a digital blood pressure monitor. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) will be recorded from the machine. Three ECG electrodes will be applied over left and right clavicles and left upper quadrant of abdomen respectively and then connect to a digital patient monitor device. The heart rate (HR) will be measured. The ECG signals will be transferred to the PowerLab 16/30 for data acquisition and analysis of the HRV.
Other: Acu-TENS
Systolic and diastolic blood pressures will be taken on the left arm by a digital blood pressure monitor (Mindray PM-8000 Express Patient Monitor, Bio-Medical Electricity, Hamburg, Germany). The mean arterial pressure (MAP) will be recorded from the machine. Three ECG electrodes will be applied over left and right clavicles and left upper quadrant of abdomen respectively and then connect to a digital patient monitor device (Mindray PM-8000 Express Patient Monitor, Bio-Medical Electricity, Hamburg, Germany). The heart rate (HR) will be measured. The ECG signals will be transferred to the PowerLab 16/30 (ADInstruments Pty Ltd. NSW, Australia) for data acquisition and analysis of the HRV.
Other Names:
  • A dual channel portable TENS unit
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Control group

Control Acu-TENS Group (Control Group), subjects received TENS over tips of bilateral knee caps.

Systolic and diastolic blood pressures will be taken on the left arm by a digital blood pressure monitor. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) will be recorded from the machine. Three ECG electrodes will be applied over left and right clavicles and left upper quadrant of abdomen respectively and then connect to a digital patient monitor device. The heart rate (HR) will be measured. The ECG signals will be transferred to the PowerLab 16/30 for data acquisition and analysis of the HRV.
Other: Acu-TENS
Systolic and diastolic blood pressures will be taken on the left arm by a digital blood pressure monitor (Mindray PM-8000 Express Patient Monitor, Bio-Medical Electricity, Hamburg, Germany). The mean arterial pressure (MAP) will be recorded from the machine. Three ECG electrodes will be applied over left and right clavicles and left upper quadrant of abdomen respectively and then connect to a digital patient monitor device (Mindray PM-8000 Express Patient Monitor, Bio-Medical Electricity, Hamburg, Germany). The heart rate (HR) will be measured. The ECG signals will be transferred to the PowerLab 16/30 (ADInstruments Pty Ltd. NSW, Australia) for data acquisition and analysis of the HRV.
Other Names:
  • A dual channel portable TENS unit
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Placebo group
Placebo Acu-TENS Group (Placebo Group), subjects received the same protocol as the Acu-TENS group and TENS was applied over right LI4 and LI11 that covered with non-conducting plastics (with the same dimension as the TENS electrodes) Systolic and diastolic blood pressures will be taken on the left arm by a digital blood pressure monitor. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) will be recorded from the machine. Three ECG electrodes will be applied over left and right clavicles and left upper quadrant of abdomen respectively and then connect to a digital patient monitor device. The heart rate (HR) will be measured. The ECG signals will be transferred to the PowerLab 16/30 for data acquisition and analysis of the HRV.
Other: Acu-TENS
Systolic and diastolic blood pressures will be taken on the left arm by a digital blood pressure monitor (Mindray PM-8000 Express Patient Monitor, Bio-Medical Electricity, Hamburg, Germany). The mean arterial pressure (MAP) will be recorded from the machine. Three ECG electrodes will be applied over left and right clavicles and left upper quadrant of abdomen respectively and then connect to a digital patient monitor device (Mindray PM-8000 Express Patient Monitor, Bio-Medical Electricity, Hamburg, Germany). The heart rate (HR) will be measured. The ECG signals will be transferred to the PowerLab 16/30 (ADInstruments Pty Ltd. NSW, Australia) for data acquisition and analysis of the HRV.
Other Names:
  • A dual channel portable TENS unit

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Heart rate variability
Time Frame: One month after the intervention
Three ECG electrodes will beapplied over left and right clavicles and left upper quadrant of abdomen respectively and then connect to a digital patient monitor device (Mindray PM-8000 Express Patient Monitor, Bio-Medical Electricity, Hamburg, Germany). The ECG signals will be transferred to the PowerLab 16/30 (ADInstruments Pty Ltd. NSW, Australia) for data acquisition and analysis of the HRV.
One month after the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Heart rate
Time Frame: One month after the study
Three ECG electrodes will be applied over left and right clavicles and left upper quadrant of abdomen respectively and then connect to a digital patient monitor device (Mindray PM-8000 Express Patient Monitor, Bio-Medical Electricity, Hamburg, Germany). The heart rate (HR) will be measured.
One month after the study

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mean Blood pressure
Time Frame: One month afterwards
Systolic and diastolic blood pressures will be taken on the left arm by a digital blood pressure monitor (Mindray PM-8000 Express Patient Monitor, Bio-Medical Electricity, Hamburg, Germany).
One month afterwards

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Tai Wai David Yu, MSc, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

February 1, 2013

Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED)

May 1, 2013

Study Completion (ANTICIPATED)

August 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 11, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 2, 2013

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

March 5, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

March 5, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 2, 2013

Last Verified

March 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HSEARS20080514001

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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