Curative effect of wrist-ankle acupuncture on postpartum abdominal pain and its influence on serum β-EP level in puerpera.

Objectives: To observe the clinical effect of wrist-ankle acupuncture on postpartum abdominal pain and its influence on serum beta-endorphin (β-EP) level in puerpera.

Methods: Seventy patients with postpartum abdominal pain were randomly divided into an acupuncture + herbal medication group (35 cases, 1 case dropped out) and a herbal medication group (35 cases, 2 cases dropped out). In the herbal medication group, 1 day after delivery, modified decoction was taken orally, one dose a day. In the acupuncture + herbal medication group, on the basis of herbal medication, wrist-ankle acupuncture was given at the Lower 1 and Lower 2 of the ankles, once daily. The duration of treatment was 3 days in the two groups. Before and after treatment, the score of visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, serum β-EP level, uterine fundus height, postpartum conditions of lochia and the uterine recovery at 42 days postpartum were compared in the patients of the two groups.

Results: At each time point after treatment (24 h, 48 h and 72 h after delivery), VAS scores and the uterine fundus height were reduced as compared with those before treatment (2 h after delivery) in the two groups (<0.05); these indexes in the acupuncture + herbal medication group were lower than those in the herbal medication group (0.05). After treatment (72 h after delivery), β-EP levels in the serum were increased when compared with those before treatment in the two groups (<0.05), and the β-EP level in the acupuncture + herbal medication group was higher than that in the herbal medication group (<0.05). The volume of postpartum lochia discharge in the acupuncture + herbal medication group was higher than that in the herbal medication group (<0.05), while the duration of postpartum lochia discharge and the total time of lochia discharge were shorter (<0.05). Regarding the recovery of the uterus at 42 days postpartum, there was no statistical significance between the two groups (>0.05).

Conclusions: Wrist-ankle acupuncture obviously reduces the degree of postpartum abdominal pain and promotes the lochia discharge and the uterine recovery. The effect mechanism may be related to the up-regulation of serum β-EP level and the increase of pain threshold so that analgesia is obtained.