Alterations in Bioelectric Activity at Acupuncture Points Following CV4 Cranial Manipulation

Jan T Hendryx

Status: Completed

Conditions: Autonomic Imbalance

Treatments: Other: Sham; Other: Osteopathic cranial manipulative medicine

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05190731

24-177

Details and patient eligibility

About

By measuring specific electrical parameters at acupuncture points that have been shown to correlate with ANS activity, the objectives of this study were to: 1) determine if CV4 has any influence on the bioelectric properties of the acupuncture meridian system, and 2) determine if CV4 affects the ANS.

Full description

This study is designed to measure bioelectrical activity at acupuncture Ting (Jing-Well) points immediately before and after employing a specific Osteopathic Cranial Manipulative Medicine (OCMM) technique called CV4 (Compression of the 4th Ventricle) vs. a Sham treatment.

Ting (Jing-Well) points are acupuncture points located at the proximal edges of the finger- and toenails that represent the beginning and end of 14 acupuncture meridians as described in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Japanese systems. Measurement of electrical activity at Ting points is performed by a physicist who has extensive experience using a device known as the Apparatus for Meridian Identification (AMI). Data collected and analyzed by the AMI for both CV4 and Sham groups is compared statistically for significant differences in before vs. after electrical activity and specific acupuncture meridians affected. One particular analysis of After Polarization (AP) potentials correlates with changes in autonomic nervous system activity.

Enrollment: 77 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 78 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Males and females from the Erie, PA, area aged 18-78 years
• Recruited by local flyers and word of mouth marketing
• Able to lay supine for about 30 minutes

Exclusion criteria

• Persons under the age of 18 years and persons unable to attend the in-person research sessions in Erie, PA.
• Identifiable acute illness of any kind
• Past medical history of stroke or transient ischemic attack within past 6 months
• Past medical history of intracranial hemorrhage, increased intracranial pressure, or seizure disorder
• Pregnant females

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

77 participants in 2 patient groups

Contact touch at occipital region, but no actual cranial manipulation

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Each subject was treated with Sham by CSPOMM and NMM board-certified osteopathic physicians. The physician's finger pads of both hands were placed underneath the supine subject's head in contact on the occipital squama medial to the lambdoidal and occipitomastoid sutures. The subject's head rested passively on the finger pads for 3 minutes. No cranial manipulative forces were applied.

Treatment:

Other: Sham

Osteopathic cranial manipulative medicine

Active Comparator group

Description:

Each subject was treated with CV4 technique by CSPOMM and NMM board-certified osteopathic physicians. All CV4 treatments were performed by one individual according to standardized protocol. The physician's hands were placed underneath the occiput with the thenar eminences in contact on the occipital squama medial to the lambdoidal and occipitomastoid sutures. Inherent cranial rhythmic motion was identified and thenar eminences followed occipital motion anteriorly during the extension phase until a still point was attained. This position was held until the still point released (usually about 3 minutes) and normal cranial motion ensued.

Treatment:

Other: Osteopathic cranial manipulative medicine