Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine ›› 2024, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (3): 629-632.DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.20240322.001

• Reviews • Previous Articles    

Musculoskeletal ultrasound to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture: a review

WANG Dingyue, YU Yana, WANG Yiyuan, ZHANG Zhen()   

  1. Department of Ultrasound, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China
  • Received:2022-12-08 Accepted:2023-05-25 Online:2024-06-15 Published:2024-03-22
  • Contact: Dr. ZHANG Zhen, Department of Ultrasound, the First Affiliated Hospital China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China. zhangzhen@cmu.edu.cn Telephone: +86-13940008480

Abstract:

Acupuncture is a typical example of Traditional Chinese Medicine and has been used in China for hundreds of years to treat a wide range of illnesses. However, in the clinic, issues and deficiencies were primarily seen in four areas: loss of accuracy in the operation process; difficulty understanding the depth of acupuncture; difficulty using reinforcing and reducing techniques; and lack of a clear dynamic effect of acupuncture points following acupuncture. Musculoskeletal ultrasonography may quantitatively evaluate the acupuncture location and display the distribution of small nerves near and within the fascia of the acupuncture point in real time. The subjects were asked how they felt about receiving Qi when the needle body reached different depths and different tissues. The Qi obtained from an acupuncture point and the connective tissue of the fascia can be further understood by combining the physiological response of the acupuncture point with the anatomical structure, which offers a new method for defining the nature of the acupuncture point and standardizing the acupuncture point.

Key words: musculoskeletal ultrasound, acupuncture, De Qi, dynamic effect, visualization

Cite this article

WANG Dingyue, YU Yana, WANG Yiyuan, ZHANG Zhen. Musculoskeletal ultrasound to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture: a review[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2024, 44(3): 629-632.