Acupuncture originated in China and involves inserting thin needles into the skin or tissues to relieve pain and treat physical, mental, and emotional conditions. A study investigated the sensations caused by acupuncture and found that deeper needle penetration was associated with sensations like heaviness, while lighter skin touches elicited feelings like tingling or dull pain. The study concluded that slight differences in needle insertion depth can cause significant differences in the intensity and quality of acupuncture sensations.

1. Acupuncture
Brook King and Katelyn
Lee

2. Defining Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a complementary/alternative
medicine involving pricking skin or tissues with
needles to alleviate pain and to treat various
physical/mental/emotional conditions. (Originated
in China)

3. Relevance to Nursing
Acupuncture is a qi focused alternative therapy for patients
seeking analgesia (pain relief) that elicits the release of
opioid-like endorphins in the body helping to alter the
transmission of pain signals. This relates to nursing by being an
alternative therapy for pain as opposed to pharmacological
therapies typically used.

4. Keywords in Database
Database used: Ebsco
Keywords: Acupuncture, study, blind experiment, randomized controlled trial

5. B.A.E
About article:
In this article, the authors wanted to investigate the sensations
of acupuncture of healthy individuals so they were using
variations of placebos and needle depths at random to
determine the effects of acupuncture on any given person. This
study was a double-blind randomized controlled trial with a
subject questionnaire post acupuncture session.

6. B.A.E Levels of Evidence
Level:
1a, Systematic review of RCT’s
Including meta-analysis
Grade: A

7. Study’s Purpose
Purpose:To investigate sensations elicited by acupuncture.
Authors: Nishiwaki, Masako/Takayama, Miho/Yajima,
Hiroyoshi/Nasu, Morihiro/Park, Joel/Kong, Jian/Takakura,
Nobuari
Other Potential Articles:“Acupuncture”, “Results of Single
Point Acupuncture”, Impact of Acupuncture on Lumbar Surgery
for Low Back Pain”

8. Study’s Methods
Included: males and females, age 7-22, Japanese participants
Excluded: no nervous system disorders, a larger variety amongst ages, other
cultures
What Searched:
“Acupuncture”, “Acupuncture in nursing”, “Effects of acupuncture on pain”,
“Effects of acupuncture”, “Acupuncture study”

9. Study’s Results
Results: Acupuncture sensations were different between penetrating and skin-touch
placebo needles, implying that acupuncture penetration and insertion depth may be associated
with different sensation patterns. Sensations of “heaviness” was distinctive for 10 mm needle
penetrations. With 5 mm penetrating needles, “tingling” and “deep pressure” were as
frequently reported. And “Aching,” “dull pain,” and “soreness” were felt from 2 mm skin-touch
needles. With the 1 and 2 mm skin-touch needles, acupuncture sensations with these shallow
insertions tend to be weaker than those with deep insertions. So the slight difference in the
depth of insertion and skin press caused significant differences in the intensity and quality of
acupuncture sensations.
Sample Size:50 participants (32 males, 18 females, aged
22+/-7.5 years)

10. Discussion
The total number of sensations elicited, the MASS index, range of spreading, and
the intensity of needle pain with the 5 and 10 mm penetrating needles were similar
to those with the 1 and 2 mm skin-touch needles, respectively.
Consistent with previous observations that “sharp pain” is frequently elicited by
acupuncture stimulation in the epidermis, dermis, and shallow subcutaneous
tissue, “sharp pain” was the most predominant sensation with 2 mm skin-touch
needles in this study.
This was the first study to investigate acupuncture sensations with penetrating
needles and skin-touch placebo needles while keeping the depth of insertion and
skin press constant.

11. Multiple Choice Questions
1. Where was Acupuncture originated at?
a. Japan
b. China
c. Europe
d. United States
2. Acupuncture releases__________ like endorphins in the body helping to alter the
transmission of ________ signals.
a. Pain, opioid
b. Opioid, pain
c. Electric, chemical
d. Chemical, electric

12. References
Nishiwaki, M., Takayama, M., Yajima, H., Nasu, M., Park, J., Kong, J., & Takakura, N.
(2018). A Double-Blind Study on Acupuncture Sensations with Japanese Style of
Acupuncture: Comparison between Penetrating and Placebo Needles.
Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine (ECAM), 2018, 1–11.
https://doi-org.pnw.idm.oclc.org/10.1155/2018/8128147
Acupuncture. (2017). Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 1p. 1. Retrieved
from
http://pnw.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr
ue&db=funk&AN=AC020200&site=ehost-live