Electro-Acupuncture Found Useful for Analgesia During Bone Marrow Biopsy

There are a host of studies showing the usages of acupuncture for anesthesia during common medical procedures and events.  These range from colonoscopies to labor to dental work, to appendectomy and more.  Studies such as the one following are important as the reduction of stronger anesthesia agents is crucial for many types of cases, not to mention arguments revolving around costs of various procedures.

In this study, a team of researchers from the Isafahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran looked at the effectiveness of electro-acupuncture (EA) for the pain experienced during bone biopsy.  Their secondary purpose of the article is to try to illustrate how EA helps with pain reduction, which is something researchers are still learning about.

Researchers recruited 50 patients undergoing bone marrow extraction/bone marrow biopsies and divided them into two groups.  One group received true EA and the other placebo.

The points used during the study were LI 4 and LI 11 bilaterally and local anesthesia was used.  They used the visual analog scale to rate pain levels.

Researchers found significant reductions in pain during the procedures within the EA treatment group.  They also measured rises in blood pressure and pulse rate as indicators of pain and the rise was lower in the acupuncture group compared to the placebo group.