John Trentini
x 7082
jtrent35@stlawu.edu
Joe Erlichman, Department of Biology

The Chinese believe that one can restore the body’s natural balance by stimulating specific points on the body via needles (acupuncture) or pressure (acupressure).  This promotes health and wellness.  Previous studies examining the biological mechanism for acupuncture have been done, however the data examining acupressure in animal models have been few.  The purpose of this study was twofold: to devise a model in which the analgesic effect of acupressure could be determined as well as to evaluate the role of endogenous opiods in the analgesic response.  Acupoints have been shown to be areas on the skin of low electrical resistance.  An acupoint on the rat left hind limb was determined by using a transcutaneous membrane resistance detector.  A placebo point was also chosen at an area of high electrical resistance.  Each rat received 50g of pressure at the acupoint or the placebo point for 10 minutes, or received no pressure.  Pain threshold was evaluated by draping the distal 4cm of the tail over a wire at 70°C every minute, and measuring the time it took for the rat to flick its tail (tail flick latency, TFL).  All rats showed an increase in TFL after receiving 10 minutes of acupressure at the acupoint, while they showed a decrease in TFL with acupressure at a placebo point, as well as without acupressure.  These data suggest that pressure applied to areas of low electrical resistance elicits an analgesic effect, thus providing more information in understanding a possible biological basis behind an ancient tradition.