The Relationship Between The Efficacy Of Acupuncture Analgesia And The Sympathetic Functional Activity

Cao Xiaoding, Mo Huanying, Su Qingfen (Department of Physiology, Shanghai First Medical College)

Li Kaiqiao (First Tuberculosis Hospital of Shanghai)

Li Shengchang, Xu Cixiong (Huashan Hospital, Shanghai First Medical College)

This article gives an account of the clinical observations made on acupuncture analgesia in 1965-1966 and in 1972-1974. Observations were performed on healthy individuals and patients before undergoing operations. To test the efficacy of acupuncture  analgesia, thresholds of pain and warmth sensation and tolerance to pain of the subjects were measured before and during acupuncture. The rectal temperature, the skin temperature of the forehead, temperature of the centre of the palm, and of the distal phalanges of the index finger were also measured. The changes in galvanic skin activity, a finger tip's plethysmogram and respiratory movements have been recorded also. These results were later correlated with the effectiveness of analgesia during the actual surgical operations.


1. Needling of acupuncture points was able to elevate the pain and warmth thresholds and increased pain tolerance of the subjects. The ability of tolerance to pain seemed to be in better correlation with the effectiveness of acupuncture analgesia, i.e. most patients with raised threshold of tolerance to pain after acupuncture induction had a better analgesic effect during the operation.

2. Needling of acupuncture points had no noticeable effect on the rectal temperature and the skin temperature of the forehead, but elicited changes in skin temperature of the palm and the index finger. Those patients with the elevation of skin temperature after needling had also a good analgesic effect during operation.


3. It was found that a painful stimulus elicited a significant augmentation in galvanic skin activity, a significant reduction in the amplitude of the plethysmographic pulse wave and in the dicrotic index, the shortening of the left ventricular ejection time, and there were significant changes in the frequency and the amplitude of respiratory movement. These physiological reactions could thus be taken as pain responses. After needling Hegu and Neiguan points, these responses were significantly depressed. During the operation, acupuncture produced a good effect in most patients manifesting significant attenuation in pain response by needling, while it gave a poor effect on those manifesting no attenuation, during the preliminary test before operation.


These results mentioned above suggest that acupuncture could inhibit the functional activity of the sympathetic nervous system. The individual variation in the effectiveness of acupuncture analgesia and the correlation between the acupuncture analgesia and the activity of the sympathetic nervous system were discussed.