EVALUATION OF ANALGESIC EFFECT OF ACUPUNCTURE BY USING SEPS: AN OBJECTIVE STUDY

BACKGROUND Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine, which originated in China in 100 BC. Special needles inserted into the body at special points were supposed to reduce pain sensation albeit subjectively. Since it modified the cognitive and affective sensations of pain, it was coupled with western treatment modalities. Evoked potentials are stand up waves, which are generated and conducted along sensory nerves on stimulation. Claims that these electrical impulses, especially in response to pain sense could be modified with acupuncture technique, were substantiated with several studies from time to time. Ours was one such attempt to provide objective evidence. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was done in the Upgraded Department of Physiology, Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, between December 2011 and December 2012; 21 subjects were chosen (11 males and 10 females) in the age group of 25-65 years suffering from pain in the upper limbs, neck and shoulders. A non-invasive method of estimation of nerve conduction using electromyography or evoked potential system using surface-electrodes with automated computerized monitor attached with printer was employed for studying pain related evoked potentials before and after application of the acupuncture technique on patients with upper limb pain of more than 3 weeks' duration. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Suitable statistical analysis of pre-acupuncture and post-acupuncture data showed no significant difference in the latencies and inter-peak latencies, but a significant change in N9 and N20 wave amplitudes. CONCLUSION The results of our study suggest that the analgesic effect of Acupuncture does not modify the action potentials conducted along the neuronal pathways to any great extent. However, more light can be thrown on the subject by examining other nerves and studying a larger sample.