| Objective:Acupuncture has been extensively used for pain relief but if deqi or psychological factors is responsible for the pain-relieving effect remains controversial. In this study, we examined the effect of deqi and psychological factors on the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for primary dysmenorrhea, with an attempt to explore the relationship among deqi, psychological factors and clinical efficacy.Methods:The patients with primary dysmenorrhea were randomly assigned to a group of acupuncture with manual manipulation and an acupuncture group without the manipulation (n=60 in each group). In traditional Chinese medicine, manipulation refers to manually rotating and pistoning the needle after it was inserted into an acupoint. Pain intensity and pain duration were used as measures for evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of the acupuncture treatment. Deqi, the sensations a patient experienced during the acupuncture treatment, was scored on a 4-point scale by the subjects. In addition, the psychological factors, including belief in acupuncture, the level of nervousness, anxiety and depression, were quantitatively assessed. The personality of the subject was assessed by using EPQ and 16PF.Results:There were statistically significant differences in pain intensity (W=2410.0, P<0.001) and pain duration (W=3181.0, P<0.001) between the two groups. The number of deqi acupoints (W=1150.5, P<0.001) and the average intensity of deqi (W=1141.0, P< 0.001) were significantly higher in manipulation group as compared with their non-manipulation counterpart. The correlation coefficients between deqi and therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture were greater than those between psychological factors and therapeutic efficacy.Conclusion:This study suggested that, compared to the psychological factors, deqi contributed significantly more to the pain-relieving effect of acupuncture in subjects with primary dysmenorrhea. Moreover, our study also showed that manual manipulation is prerequisite for eliciting and enhancing the deqi sensations and deqi is critical for achieving therapeutic effects. |
