The Effect of Moxibustion on the Meridian

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to combine the Chinese medicine and physics, using acupuncture to conduct electrical measurement, and to understand the effects of moxibustion on meridian.

Detailed Description
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Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine, which use the burned moxa to generate warmth on the human's local skin and then exerts a therapeutic effect. Research found that moxibustion has effect on analgesic and anti-inflammation, which can be applied on myofascial pain, insomnia, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, cancer related fatigue, irritable bowel disease etc.. Although research reveal that moxibustion can treat these diseases probably by effect on analgesic and anti-inflammation, the mechanism of moxibustion is still not clear. In modern study, the meridian has electric characteristic and the therapeutic effect of acupuncture may be related to the electricity resulting by acupuncture manipulation. However, there is no study to investigate the electric effect of moxibustion on the meridian. In our study, the investigators applied the semiconductor analyzer Agilent B1500A to investigate the electric characteristic of meridians and visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after moxibustion, which may provide another vision on moxibustion in the future. The investigators intend to recruit 30 healthy participants with age more than 20 years old to participate this study. The participants receive acupuncture and then measure the VAS and electric characteristic by the semiconductor analyzer Agilent B1500A immediately(baseline data). The investigators add the burned moxa on the acupuncture as a method for moxibustion. After the moxa burned out, the investigators measure the VAS and electric characteristic immediately again(post moxibustion data). The investigators will use paired t test and repeated measure two ways ANOVA to compare the VAS and electricity of baseline data and post moxibustion data in each participant. The purpose of this study is to combine the Chinese medicine and physics, using acupuncture to conduct electrical measurement, and to understand the effects of moxibustion on meridian.

Official Title
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The Effect of Moxibustion on the Meridian: A Prospective, Crossover Designed, Observational Study

Conditions
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Acupuncture, Moxibustion

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: acupuncture and moxibustion


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: at least 20 years old agree to the informed consent Exclusion Criteria: under 20 years old pregnant or breast-feeding women those with an empty stomach before the study a tendency toward bleeding with thrombocytopenia or history of platelets < 20000 or a user of an anti-platelet drug.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 20 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| acupuncture and moxibustion group<br>The investigators intend to recruit 30 participants who receive acupuncture and then measure the VAS and electric characteristic by the semiconductor analyzer Agilent B1500A first. The investigators add the burned moxa on the acupuncture as a method for moxibustion, and then measure the VAS and electric characteristic again. | Procedure: acupuncture and moxibustion<br>* Participants receive acupuncture and then measure the VAS and electric characteristic by the semiconductor analyzer Agilent B1500A first. The investigators add the burned moxa on the acupuncture as a method for moxibustion, and then measure the VAS and electric characteristic again.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| change of visual analogue scale (VAS), score from 0 to 10, the lower score means less pain while the higher score means more pain. | The investigators measure visual analogue score immediately after intervention of acupuncture (baseline data) and moxibustion (post moxibustion data) respectively. Measured time baseline data: immediately after acupuncture post moxibustion data: immediately after moxa burned out (10 minutes) | through study completion, an average of 90 minutes | 
| The change of electric current | Agilent B1500A is a device that can measure the electric current after acupuncture and moxibustion. The investigators measure the electric current after intervention of acupuncture (baseline data) and moxibustion (post moxibustion data) respectively. Measured time: baseline data: immediately after acupuncture post moxibustion data: immediately after moxa burned out (10 minutes) | through study completion, an average of 90 minutes | 
| The change of voltage | Agilent B1500A is a device that can measure the voltage after acupuncture and moxibustion. The investigators measure the voltage after intervention of acupuncture (baseline data) and moxibustion (post moxibustion data) respectively. Measured time: baseline data: immediately after acupuncture post moxibustion data: immediately after moxa burned out (10 minutes) | through study completion, an average of 90 minutes |