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Tissue mechanics during acupuncture and manual therapies
Author(s) -
Shreiber David I,
Julias Margaret,
Seneres Alice W,
Madabhushi Anant,
Buettner Helen M
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a84-d
Subject(s) - dry needling , acupuncture , connective tissue , soft tissue , medicine , massage , biomedical engineering , acupressure , anatomy , pathology , alternative medicine
Many manual therapies involve perturbation of soft tissue via contact with or through skin, including acupuncture, acupressure, and simple massage therapy. Recent studies show that 80% of acupuncture (and acupressure) points fall above fascial planes, where soft tissue folds inward to separate muscle groups, and that acupuncture needling at these points results in greater tissue stress than at ‘control’ points located directly above muscle. We are simulating acupuncture in vitro with tissue equivalents comprising collagen gels with dispersed fibroblasts and evaluating tissue mechanics with polarized light microscopy. The addition of hyaluronic acid to the gels during self‐assembly significantly altered the biophysical response to controlled acupuncture needling, which indicated that ECM composition may be an important contributor to the efficacy of acupuncture. Finite element models that included skin, fat, connective tissue, muscle, and bone highlighted the role of tissue geometry on the stress response during manual therapy. Palpating pressure applied above muscle caused high compressive stress but little connective tissue distortion. Palpating above a connective tissue plane caused significant distortional stress within that plane, which also propagated to adjacent planes. Data from the Visible Human Project Initiative is provided by the National Library of Medicine and the Univ. of Colorado.