Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate emergency department (ED) providers’ knowledge of the life-time cancer risk attributable to radiation (LAR) from commonly performed CT scans and its association with the ordering providers’ risk/benefit analysis prior to ordering the exam. It further explores factors that may influence provider selection of a particular diagnostic imaging study in an ED setting. Materials and Methods Sixty-seven ED providers at the University of Rochester Medical Center completed a multiple choice questionnaire. The questions were derived to assess individual provider’s awareness of LAR from a diagnostic CT scan of the abdomen/pelvis and their behavior towards risk/benefit analysis before ordering the exam. The association between the questions and years since completion of clinical training was determined using the Spearman correlation test. Univariate logistic regression analysis was employed for the same questions to predict the knowledge of LAR. Results Less than 30% of ED providers possessed accurate knowledge of LAR (p-value .025). Providers with greater clinical experience, although lacking in the knowledge of LAR, were more likely to consider patients’ radiation dose history, conduct risk/benefit analysis, and less likely to order a CT scan unnecessarily. Clinical experience was negatively correlated with perceived unnecessary use of CT scans (p-value .01). Conclusion A large proportion of ED providers are unaware of the life-time risk of carcinogenesis from commonly performed CT scans. The clinical experience, not the knowledge of LAR, is significantly associated with beneficial behavior toward the use of CT scanning.

Shoulder joint dysfunction is the leading cause of decreased athletic ability in athletes. Shoulder joint sports injuries affect the athletic performance of athletes. Improvements in the muscle endurance of the shoulder joint can reduce the incidence of shoulder joint dysfunction. Acupuncture has been an important part of Asian culture for a long time. In acupuncture, nerves are stimulated, inducing postactivation potentiation (PAP) in the body’s motor units and enhancing muscle strength. In this research, 20 female participants with full flexion/extension and adduction/abduction ranges of motion in the shoulder joint during isokinetic exercises underwent stimulation of the following acupuncture points in the shoulder joint: Binao (LI14), Jianyu (LI15), Jianliao (SJ14), Naohui (SJ13), Yuzhong (KI26), Zhongfu (LU1), Yunmen (LU2), Xiabai (LU4), Chize (LU5), Tianfu (LU3), and Xiaoluo (SJ12). In the study, there were significant increases after acupuncture in the average maximum torque in flexion, extension, and adduction; the average work in flexion/extension and adduction/abduction; the average power in flexion/extension and adduction/abduction; the total work in flexion/extension and adduction/abduction; the total net sagittal-plane work (flexion + extension); and the total net frontal-plane work (adduction + abduction) (P<0.05). The average maximum abduction torque did not increase significantly, potentially due to antagonistic forces of muscles. Therefore, acupuncture at acupoints around the shoulder joint can increase muscle excitability, thereby delaying muscle fatigue and increasing muscle endurance.

Background. Acupuncture is often used to treat chronic conditions, such as pain. In recent years, given the importance of the explosive forces generated by shoulder muscles for the completion of motor tasks, studies in which nerves were stimulated through acupuncture to increase the explosive forces were conducted. This study explored the effect of acupuncture on explosive force production by the muscles of the female shoulder joint. Methods. Eighteen healthy women underwent shoulder adduction (Add), abduction (Abd), flexion (Flex), and extension (Ext) tests with an isokinetic measurement system. Acupuncture was used to stimulate the Zhongfu (LU1), Tianfu (LI3), Xiabai (LU4), Binao (LI14), Naohui (SJ13), Jianliao (SJ14), and Xiaoluo (SJ12) points, and electromyography (EMG) signals were recorded before and after acupuncture. Results. After acupuncture, there was a significant difference in the average maximum work, the average maximum power, the average maximum speed, the total work in Add/Abd and Flex/Ext, the EMG signals, and the stiffness of the muscles in Abd and Ext ( P < 0.05 ). There were no significant differences in the average maximum torque in Abd or Flex. Conclusion. Based on the results, there may be a significant correlation between the manipulation of different acupoints by acupuncture and the average maximum torque and stiffness. Acupuncture may stimulate nerves to activate muscles and induce a postactivation potentiation effect that improves explosive force production. Therefore, acupuncture as an auxiliary tool may increase the explosive forces generated by acupoint-related muscles by stimulating nerves.

Acupuncture can improve explosive force production and affect joint stiffness by affecting muscle activation levels. This study aims to explore the effects of true acupuncture (TA) compared with sham acupuncture (SA) on the explosive force production and stiffness of the knee joint in healthy male subjects. Twenty subjects were randomly divided into the TA group (n = 10) and SA group (n = 10) to complete isokinetic movement of the right knee joint at a speed of 240°/s before and after acupuncture. Futu (ST32), Liangqiu (ST34), Zusanli (ST36), Xuehai (SP10), and Chengshan (BL57) were selected for acupuncture. The intervention of SA is that needles with a blunt tip were pushed against the skin, giving an illusion of insertion. The results showed that acupuncture and the intervention time had a significant interaction effect on knee joint explosive force and joint stiffness (p < 0.05). The average maximum (max) torque, average work, average power, average peak power and total work of the TA group increased significantly after acupuncture (p < 0.05), while the SA group did not (p > 0.05). Therefore, true acupuncture can immediately improve the explosive force and joint stiffness of the male knee joint by inducing post-activation potentiation (PAP) and/or De-Qi.