Electroacupuncture relieves pain in CP/CPPS

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The effectiveness of long-needle acupuncture at acupoints BL30 and BL35 for CP/CPPS: a randomized controlled pilot study.

CONCLUSION: Needling at the BL30 and BL35 using LA benefits patients with CP/CPPS.

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acupoints-ucpps.png (36.45 KiB) Viewed 2907 times

Figure: The location and distribution of the acupoints
Notes: The black, gray, red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and brown circles or lines represent the frequency/acupoint of bladder meridian of foot-taiyang, ren meridian, kidney meridian of foot-shaoyin, gallbladder meridian of foot-shaoyang, spleen meridian of foot-taiyin, liver meridian of foot-jueyin, large intestinal meridian of hand-yangming, and triple energizer meridian of hand-shaoyang, respectively.

From a recent Chinese review study that looked at a range of papers on UCPPS and acupuncture:

Various acupoint selection methods have been applied in the treatment of CP/CPPS, involving 25 different acupoints and 8 meridians, which include bladder meridian of foot-taiyang, ren meridian, kidney meridian of foot-shaoyin, gallbladder meridian of foot-shaoyang, spleen meridian of foot-taiyin, liver meridian of foot-jueyin, large intestinal meridian of hand-yangming, and triple energizer meridian of hand-shaoyang. Some similarities were observed among acupoint selection studies. Statistical analysis was used to examine the frequency of acupuncture points used in each study (see figure above). The lumbosacral and lower extremities are the primary targets of acupuncture points. The acupoint meridians were primarily the bladder meridian of foot-taiyang (12/25), ren meridian (3/25), and spleen meridian of foot-taiyin (3/25). SP6 (Sanyinjiao) was the most frequently used acupoint (seven times), followed by BL33 (Zhongliao; six times), BL35 (Huiyang; four times), and BL23 (Shenshu; three times).

Admin comment: this review is not carried on Pubmed yet and is from an open access journal, which I usually avoid, but the diagram shows where needles are commonly inserted so I thought it worth including. Patients can now check that their acupuncture therapist is following the normal protocols, to some extent. If needles are inserted into other areas not shown on the diagram, you may have cause to question the quality of care