EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT ACUPUNCTURE STIMULI ON PAIN,UTERINE VASCULAR DIAMETER,AND TEMPERATURE OF ACUPOINT AREA IN RATS WITH COLD STAGNATION DYSMENORRHEA

Objective: To discover the relation between different acupuncture stimuli and the analgesic effect, uterine vascular diameter, and acupoint temperature in a rat model of primary dysmenorrhea.Methods: One hundred and four 3-month estrus female rats were randomly divided into saline group, cold stagnation dysmenorrhea model group(CSDM), A stimuli group, and B stimuli group(26 in each group).Different acupuncture stimuli(A and B) were applied to Sanyinjiao(SP6).Writhing response, diameters of uterine vessels, and temperature of SP6 and Xuehai(SP10) areas were observed.Results: Compared with the saline group, CSDM group had reduced latent period(P0.01), increased frequency and score of writhing(P0.01), and contracted uterine vessel(P0.01).Compared to the CSDM group, latent period was prolonged(P0.01), writhing frequency and score were reduced(P0.01) and uterine vessels were dilated(P0.05 or P0.01) in the A stimuli group.Writhing score of the B stimuli group was reduced(P0.05), with dilated uterine vessel(P0.01) compared to the CSDM group.Compared to the B stimuli group, the A stimuli group had prolonged latent period(P0.01), reduced frequency(P0.01) and score(P0.05) and dilated uterine vessels(P0.05 or P0.01).Compared with other groups, temperature of left SP6 in the A stimuli group reduced from the onset of the stimulation to the 5th minute(P0.05), while the temperature of one was increased from the 5th minute to the 10 th minute(P0.01).Temperature of right SP10 reduced from the onset of the stimulation to the 5th minute(P0.05 or P0.01), increased from the 5th minute to the 10 th minute(P0.05 or P0.01), and decreased again from the 10 th minute to the 20 th minute(P0.01).Conclusion: For the treatment of dysmenorrhea, the effect of thick needle with deep insertion and manipulation(A stimuli) is superior to thin needle with superficial insertion but no manipula-tion(B stimuli).Dilation of uterine vessels and improvement of microcirculation may be the underlying mechanism.Different acupuncture stimuli could trigger different patterns of temperature change in acupoints.