Mechanical response of fascia associated with acupuncture meridians during acupuncture needling

摘要

Ultrasound elastography has seen a surge of interest in areas ranging from lesion detection in the breast and prostate to assessing fibrosis in the liver and kidney. We are using elastography techniques to characterize the mechanical response of connective tissue to acupuncture needling.Previous studies have shown that the perimuscularfascia is largely responsible for the "needle grasp" phenomenon that frequently accompanies acupuncture treatment. Local to the needle there is a winding of connective tissue fibers around the rotating needle. Further manipulation results in measurable tissue displacement in phase with the needle perturbation, particularly within the fascial bands, bothlocal to the needle, and at significant distances from the needle site. The recognition of this phenomenon has important implications when paired with our parallel studies on the cellular response to tissue stretching.