Analgesic action of suspended moxibustion in rats with chronic visceral hyperalgesia correlates with enkephalins in the spinal cord

摘要

Rats that modeled chronic visceral hyperalgesia received suspended moxibustion at bilateral Tianshu (ST25) and Shangjuxu (ST37) once daily over a period of 7 days. Results show that suspended moxibustion significantly depressed abdominal withdrawal reflex scores and increased enkephalin concentration in the spinal cord. The experimental findings suggest that spinal enkephalins contributed to the analgesic effect of suspended moxibustion in rats with chronic visceral hyperalgesia.