Li-Ping Huang

Bilateral Effects of 6 Weeks' Unilateral Acupuncture and Electroacupuncture on Ankle Dorsiflexors Muscle Strength: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVES To determine the effect of unilateral manual acupuncture at selected acupoints on ankle dorsiflexion strength of both limbs, and compare the effect with that of electroacupuncture at the same acupoints and sham points. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial. SETTING Rehabilitation laboratory of a university. PARTICIPANTS Young men (N=43) were randomly allocated into 4 groups: control; manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture on 2 acupoints (ST-36 and ST-39); and electroacupuncture on 2 nonacupoints. These points were located on the tibialis anterior muscle. INTERVENTIONS The participants in the experimental groups received 15 to 30 minutes of acupuncture or electroacupuncture on the right leg in each session, 3 sessions per week for 6 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The maximal strength in isometric ankle dorsiflexion of both legs was assessed before and after the experimental period. RESULTS Repeated-measures analysis of variance identified significant and similar strength gains (range, 35%-64% in the right leg and 32%-49% in the left leg; P<.01) in all acupuncture groups, but not in the control group (-2% to 2%, P>.05). CONCLUSIONS Unilateral manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture at the acupoints can improve muscle strength in both limbs, and electroacupuncture at the nonacupoints as used in this study can also induce similar strength gains.

An fMRI Investigation on Brain Activity in Response to Unilateral Acupuncture, Electroacupuncture and Electromyostimulation on ST36 and ST39

It is known that unilateral resistance exercise training may result in an increased muscular strength not only in the exercised muscle, but also in the unexercised homologous muscle in the contralateral limb. This phenomenon is termed cross education. Cross-education effect has been shown in hand, arm and leg muscles after various types of resistance training (Farthing, 2009; Hortobagyi, 2005; Lee & Carroll, 2007; Lee et al., 2010; Munn et al., 2004; Zhou, 2000). Furthermore, it has been reported that repeated unilateral transcutaneous electrical stimulation on a limb muscle or a nerve trunk may also cause cross-education effect (Bezerra et al., 2009; Cabric & Appell, 1987; Hortobagyi et al., 1999; Singer, 1986; Tachino et al., 1989; Zhou et al., 2002). Although the magnitude of strength gain in the contralateral limb is generally less than that in the exercised limb, this cross-over effect might have clinical values in neuromuscular rehabilitation (Farthing et al., 2009; Singer, 1986; Woo et al., 2006). More interestingly, unilateral therapy for treatment of conditions on the contralateral side of the body has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries (Kim et al., 2010; Woo et al., 2006). One particular type of treatment, juci, involves acupuncture on one side of the body to affect the function of the other side (Lin & Pan, 2004). This appears to be similar to the concept of cross education. A recent investigation in our laboratory has demonstrated that four weeks of electroacupuncture on tibialis anterior muscle (TA) of one limb can significantly increase dorsiflexion muscle strength in both the stimulated limb and the contralateral limb (Huang et al., 2007). The exact mechanism of cross education is not clear. In principle, muscle strength can improve in adaptation to voluntary exercise training due to either or both an improved neural control and/or muscle hypertrophy. Because there has been little evidence of a significant muscle hypertrophy associated with improved strength in the contralateral limb,