Monitoring acupressure stimulation effects by infrared thermography

Abstract

Acupressure is a healing therapy that provides stimulation without needle by applying any pressure to the meridians of traditional Chinese acupuncture (the most important branch of the tTraditional Chinese medicine). This article presents an application of the infrared thermography to the thermal reactivity of Human body skin due to the acupressure stimulation. To survey an in vivo human skin surface, during the feasibility and material validity test, we will discuss the different sources of uncertainties and slants bound to the measurement by infrared thermography, such as the skin surface's emissivity, the noise and the drift of the camera as well as the influence of the radiance emitted by the ambient surroundings. The main aim of this work is to highlight in infrared an objective evidence of the acupuncture points by infrared thermography under acupressure stimulation defined by the traditional Chinese acupuncture, by refining infrared thermography measuring methods. And finally twelve healthy acupuncture-naïve volunteers of our University participated to this scientific experimentation: a single-blinded in vivo trial "formula, placebo and sham" session.

Terapi Acupressure untuk Kesehatan

“…Setiap meridian terhubung ke berbagai organ dan jaringan tubuh manusia. Aktivasi titik-titik tertentu pada meridian oleh tekanan memfasilitasi pengurangan rasa sakit secara lokal dan juga mengurangi rasa sakit dari bagian lain dari tubuh (Narongpunt et al, 2004). Ini adalah titik-titik tekanan, teknik penyembuhan energi yang diperantarai tangan yang dianggap sebagai strategi yang berguna untuk pengelolaan beberapa gejala, bersama dengan kenyamanan fisik yang bermanfaat (Luo et al, 2013;Walsh, 2001).…”

Contemporary acupressure therapy: Adroit cure for painless recovery of therapeutic ailments

“…Each meridian is connected to various organs and tissues of human body. Activation of specific point on meridian by pressure facilitates pain reduction at the local site and also reduces the pain from other parts of the body 6 . It is a pressure point, hand-mediated energy healing technique which is considered as useful strategy for the management of multiple symptoms, along with beneficial physical comforts, satisfaction and economy 2, 7.…”

“…Activation of specific point on meridian by pressure facilitates pain reduction at the local site and also reduces the pain from other parts of the body. 6 It is a pressure point, hand-mediated energy healing technique which is considered as useful strategy for the management of multiple symptoms, along with beneficial physical comforts, satisfaction and economy. 2 , 7 As a whole, acupressure is a manually operated, needle-free, non-invasive, cost-effective and non-pharmacological healing intervention to promote patients' well-being.…”

How Micro Current Created by Grounding Stimulates Meridian Points in Acupressure?

“…Meridians are the channels inside the human body that help retain Qi and interconnect to the human body's various tissues and organs. Its activation induces an analgesic effect both locally and systematically when applying pressure on a particular point [3]. Acupoint is the point nearest to the skin surface, and the human body is full of clusters of such elements [4].…”