Treatment of disease by inserting needles along specific pathways or meridians. The placement varies with the disease being treated. It is sometimes used in conjunction with heat, moxibustion, acupressure, or electric stimulation.
The occupational discipline of the traditional Chinese methods of ACUPUNCTURE THERAPY for treating disease by inserting needles along specific pathways or meridians.
Designated locations along nerves or organ meridians for inserting acupuncture needles.
Analgesia produced by the insertion of ACUPUNCTURE needles at certain ACUPUNCTURE POINTS on the body. This activates small myelinated nerve fibers in the muscle which transmit impulses to the spinal cord and then activate three centers - the spinal cord, midbrain and pituitary/hypothalamus - to produce analgesia.
Acupuncture therapy by inserting needles in the ear. It is used to control pain and for treating various ailments.
The burning of a small, thimble sized, smoldering plug of dried leaves on the SKIN at an ACUPUNCTURE point. Usually the plugs contain leaves of MUGWORT or moxa.
Classical loci in ACUPUNCTURE. They are main and collateral channels, regarded as a network of passages, through which vital energy (Qi) circulates and along which acupoints (ACUPUNCTURE POINTS) are distributed. The meridians are a series of 14 lines upon which more than 400 acupoints are located on the body. (The Pinyin Chinese-English Dictionary, p. 359; Dr. Wu Lancheng, Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing)
A form of acupuncture with electrical impulses passing through the needles to stimulate NERVE TISSUE. It can be used for ANALGESIA; ANESTHESIA; REHABILITATION; and treatment for diseases.
A form of therapy that employs a coordinated and interdisciplinary approach for easing the suffering and improving the quality of life of those experiencing pain.
A system of traditional medicine which is based on the beliefs and practices of the Chinese culture.
Sharp instruments used for puncturing or suturing.
An effect usually, but not necessarily, beneficial that is attributable to an expectation that the regimen will have an effect, i.e., the effect is due to the power of suggestion.
The vital life force in the body, supposedly able to be regulated by acupuncture. It corresponds roughly to the Greek pneuma, the Latin spiritus, and the ancient Indian prana. The concept of life-breath or vital energy was formulated as an indication of the awareness of man, originally directed externally toward nature or society but later turned inward to the self or life within. (From Comparison between Concepts of Life-Breath in East and West, 15th International Symposium on the Comparative History of Medicine - East and West, August 26-September 3, 1990, Shizuoka, Japan, pp. ix-x)
The discipline concerned with using the combination of conventional ALLOPATHIC MEDICINE and ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE to address the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of health and illness.
Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.
Scales, questionnaires, tests, and other methods used to assess pain severity and duration in patients or experimental animals to aid in diagnosis, therapy, and physiological studies.
A method in which either the observer(s) or the subject(s) is kept ignorant of the group to which the subjects are assigned.
Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table.
A syndrome characterized by the acute onset of unilateral FACIAL PARALYSIS which progresses over a 2-5 day period. Weakness of the orbicularis oculi muscle and resulting incomplete eye closure may be associated with corneal injury. Pain behind the ear often precedes the onset of paralysis. This condition may be associated with HERPESVIRUS 1, HUMAN infection of the facial nerve. (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p1376)
A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly.
An unpleasant sensation induced by noxious stimuli which are detected by NERVE ENDINGS of NOCICEPTIVE NEURONS.
Therapeutic practices which are not currently considered an integral part of conventional allopathic medical practice. They may lack biomedical explanations but as they become better researched some (PHYSICAL THERAPY MODALITIES; DIET; ACUPUNCTURE) become widely accepted whereas others (humors, radium therapy) quietly fade away, yet are important historical footnotes. Therapies are termed as Complementary when used in addition to conventional treatments and as Alternative when used instead of conventional treatment.
Involuntary discharge of URINE during sleep at night after expected age of completed development of urinary control.
Any dummy medication or treatment. Although placebos originally were medicinal preparations having no specific pharmacological activity against a targeted condition, the concept has been extended to include treatments or procedures, especially those administered to control groups in clinical trials in order to provide baseline measurements for the experimental protocol.
Acute or chronic pain in the lumbar or sacral regions, which may be associated with musculo-ligamentous SPRAINS AND STRAINS; INTERVERTEBRAL DISK DISPLACEMENT; and other conditions.
Methods and procedures for the diagnosis of diseases of the nervous system, central and peripheral, or demonstration of neurologic function or dysfunction.
A type of massage in which finger pressure on specific body sites is used to promote healing, relieve fatigue, etc. Although the anatomical locations are the same as the ACUPUNCTURE POINTS used in ACUPUNCTURE THERAPY (hence acu-), no needle or other acupuncture technique is employed in acupressure. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed). Shiatsu is a modern outgrowth that focuses more on prevention than healing.
Chinese herbal or plant extracts which are used as drugs to treat diseases or promote general well-being. The concept does not include synthesized compounds manufactured in China.
Precise and detailed plans for the study of a medical or biomedical problem and/or plans for a regimen of therapy.
The use of specifically placed small electrodes to deliver electrical impulses across the SKIN to relieve PAIN. It is used less frequently to produce ANESTHESIA.
A condition characterized by pain in or near the lateral humeral epicondyle or in the forearm extensor muscle mass as a result of unusual strain. It occurs in tennis players as well as housewives, artisans, and violinists.
The period of history from 1601 of the common era to the present.
A clinical syndrome with intermittent abdominal pain characterized by sudden onset and cessation that is commonly seen in infants. It is usually associated with obstruction of the INTESTINES; of the CYSTIC DUCT; or of the URINARY TRACT.
The systematic and methodical manipulations of body tissues best performed with the hands for the purpose of affecting the nervous and muscular systems and the general circulation.
A common primary headache disorder, characterized by a dull, non-pulsatile, diffuse, band-like (or vice-like) PAIN of mild to moderate intensity in the HEAD; SCALP; or NECK. The subtypes are classified by frequency and severity of symptoms. There is no clear cause even though it has been associated with MUSCLE CONTRACTION and stress. (International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd ed. Cephalalgia 2004: suppl 1)
Discomfort or more intense forms of pain that are localized to the cervical region. This term generally refers to pain in the posterior or lateral regions of the neck.
A sudden, temporary sensation of heat predominantly experienced by some women during MENOPAUSE. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)
Works about clinical trials involving one or more test treatments, at least one control treatment, specified outcome measures for evaluating the studied intervention, and a bias-free method for assigning patients to the test treatment. The treatment may be drugs, devices, or procedures studied for diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic effectiveness. Control measures include placebos, active medicines, no-treatment, dosage forms and regimens, historical comparisons, etc. When randomization using mathematical techniques, such as the use of a random numbers table, is employed to assign patients to test or control treatments, the trials are characterized as RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS AS TOPIC.
A symptom complex consisting of pain, muscle tenderness, clicking in the joint, and limitation or alteration of mandibular movement. The symptoms are subjective and manifested primarily in the masticatory muscles rather than the temporomandibular joint itself. Etiologic factors are uncertain but include occlusal dysharmony and psychophysiologic factors.
A system of therapeutics founded by Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), based on the Law of Similars where "like cures like". Diseases are treated by highly diluted substances that cause, in healthy persons, symptoms like those of the disease to be treated.
Decreased salivary flow.
Diseases which have one or more of the following characteristics: they are permanent, leave residual disability, are caused by nonreversible pathological alteration, require special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation, or care. (Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)
The functions and properties of living organisms, including both the physical and chemical factors and processes, supporting life in single- or multi-cell organisms from their origin through the progression of life.
An unpleasant sensation in the stomach usually accompanied by the urge to vomit. Common causes are early pregnancy, sea and motion sickness, emotional stress, intense pain, food poisoning, and various enteroviruses.
Painful menstruation.