A comparison study of acupuncture sensation scale between real acupuncture and sham needle

Objectives : Proper acupuncture stimulation is associated with a characteristic set of sensation usually referred to as 'De-Qi'. In order to develop the appropriate sham acupuncture, various sensations to each stimulation should be considered through analysis of the profiles of acupuncture sensation. It was therefore investigated to compare the acupuncture sensation scale (ASS) of two types of sham acupuncture to that of the real acupuncture. Methods : Ninety-four participants (mean age 26.4, range 26-49) were asked to complete five point-Likert scale ASS developed by Vincent et al. after real or two-kinds of sham acupuncture stimulation: blunted tip sham acupuncture (BT) and round tip sham acupuncture (RT). Needling was done at LI4 acupoint on non-dominant hand and stimulated for 30 seconds with real or two-kinds of sham needle. Finger withdrawal latency (FWL) of each group was also measured to evaluate the pain sensitivity to noxious heat stimuli. Results : BT acupuncture significantly less produced penetrating, numb, intense, hurting, pulling, shock, tingling, throbbing sensation than real acupuncture stimulation. RT acupuncture significantly less produced penetrating, burning, electric, numb, intense, hurting, pulling, aching, shasharp, shock, stinging, tingling, throbbing sensation than real acupuncture. Each group did not demonstrate the differences of pain sensitivity to noxious stimuli. Conclusions : These results indicated that types of tip of acupuncture produced different kinds of acupuncture sensation. Our finding provides a general information of sensations to two kinds of sham acupuncture for development of ideal placebo sham needle.