Transient decrease in skin resistance response and level at the deh-chi stage caused by manual acupuncture

Abstract

Deh-chi is described as a kind of soreness, numbness, or heavy swelling in deep tissues during manual acupuncture. This finding is important in acupuncture therapy, although the mechanism of this phenomenon remains unclear. Skin resistance response (SRR) and skin resistance level (SRL) are expressed as a component of alternating current and direct current changes in electrodermal activity (EDA) respectively. In the present study, we recorded SRR and SRL, skin blood flow and perspiration simultaneously in an attempt to determine the relationship between skin sympathetic nerve activity and EDA at the deh-chi stage. We found that SRR, SRL and skin blood flow decrease, and that perspiration increases transiently at the deh-chi stage. Our findings indicate that manual acupuncture causes an increase in vasomotor and sudomotor activities, a decrease in skin blood flow, and increased perspiration. These SRR and SRL recordings may be taken as an indicator of deh-chi.