Acupuncture at SP6 Point in Lower Extremities Improved Patients' Insomnia, Which Was Also Shown Through Ryodoraku Electrical Measurements

Abstract

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) applies acupuncture to treat insomnia and the SP6 is known to be beneficial for sleep. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture at SP6 on resting electroencephalogram (EEG), meridian electrical activity (Ryodoraku), and stress in patients with confirmed insomnia. In this single-blind, randomized clinical trial subjects (N=70) from TCM treated outpatients were randomized to receive TCM based acupuncture with manual stimulation (experimental) or sham stimulation (control) treatment. Acupuncture was applied to SP6 for 20 minutes on the spleen meridian of the foot in experimental subjects and controls received sham intervention. Significant changes between pre- and post-intervention were found in all electrical conductance values for the 12 meridians (Ryodoraku scores) in either control or experimental groups (fold change from 1.15 to 2.03) (P values <0.001). Eight meridians showed significantly different changes in Ryodoraku scores between pre- and post-intervention in the experimental group compared to the control group (fold change from 1.16 to 1.36) (P<0.05). EEG wave signals did not change with intervention in either group (P values ≥0.209). In summary, acupuncture at the SP6 acupoint altered meridian electrical activity of the lung, pericardium, heart, small intestine, sanjiao, spleen, bladder, and stomach meridians (P values <0.05) in patients with insomnia. Further studies are necessary to evaluate how changes in these meridians may affect insomnia.