A Single Acupuncture Point for Dysmenorrhea

Shiqizhui for Dysmenorrhea

In acupuncture theory and practice, a multiple point prescription is an essential component of an effective acupuncture treatment. In some cases, only one point constitutes this prescription. Shiqizhui (EX-B8) is such a prescription for dysmennorrhea. A study conducted in the Medical School at Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China was to investigate the clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture at single point Shiqizhui (EX-B8) and multi-points in time-varying treatment for primary dysmenorrhea. 600 patients with primary dysmenorrhea were recruited and randomly assigned to the single point group (n=200) including group A (treating before the menstruation, n=100) and group B (immediately treating as soon as pain occurrence, n=100), the multi-points group (n=200) including group C (treating before the menstruation, n=100) and group D (immediately treating as soon as pain occurrence, n=100), or the control group, group E (n=200, no treatment). The therapeutic effects were measured and analyzed after treatment for three menstrual cycles and interviewed for three follow-up periods. The study obtained the following results: acupuncture could effectively relieve menstrual pain for primary dysmenorrhea compared with the control group (P<0.05, P<0.01); immediate pain relief occurred following acupuncture within 5 minutes in group B (P<0.01) and group D (P<0.01), and the two groups obviously relieved menstrual pain for VAS scores. Both group A and group C obviously relieved menstrual pain (P<0.01), and group C was better than group A (P<0.05). Compared with group D, Group C was much better for CMSS scores in cycle 1. The authors concluded that acupuncture before the menstruation is better than immediate acupuncture at pain occurrence at the improvement in symptoms of dysmenorrhea at multi-points. And single point is better than multi-point acupuncture at pain occurrence. The present trial suggest Shiqizhui (EX-B8) should be chosen as a convenient point.

Source: 

Ma YX, Ye XN, Liu CZ, Cai PY, Li ZF, Du DQ, Guo G, Chen SZ, Zhao JP, Liu JJ, Yi HQ, Gao SZ. A clinical trial of acupuncture about time-varying treatment and points selection in primary dysmenorrhea. J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Jul 9;148(2):498-504.