Effects of non-invasive stimulation of acupoints on the cardiovascular system.

Objective: To study the effect of two non-invasive methods to stimulate acupoints on the cardiovascular system.

Design: Blind randomized-controlled trial.

Setting: An experimental setting in a university-affiliated hospital.

Pressure on acupoints decreases postoperative pain.

Our objective was to study the analgesic effect of acupoint pressure on postoperative pain in a controlled single-blind study. Forty patients undergoing knee arthroscopy in an ambulatory surgery unit in a university-affiliated hospital were randomized to receive either an active stimulation (AS) or a placebo stimulation (PS) 30 min after awakening from anesthesia. We stimulated 15 classical acupoints in the AS group, on the side contralateral to surgery, with a firm pressure and a gliding movement across the acupoint.