Am J Chin Med. 2003 ; 31(1): 157-62.

Analgesic effects of different acupoint stimulation frequencies in humans.

Attele AS, Mehendale S, Guan X, Dey L, Yuan CS.

Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, Committee on Clinical Pharmacology and Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care The University of Chicago, Chicago IL 60637, USA.

Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) provides a convenient and standardized technique for pain treatment. The cold-pressor test is a simple and reliable model in humans for the induction of tonic pain. In this controlled study, the effects of TEAS on cold pressor-induced pain were evaluated in 22 healthy human subjects. Electrical stimulation at 4 Hz and 32 Hz was applied to He-Gu (LI 4) and Nui-Guan (P 6) acupoints for 15 minutes. Pain score ratings were evaluated at four time points from 30-170 seconds during the cold-pressor test. We observed an analgesic effect at both 4 Hz and 32 Hz of stimulation, and pain score rating reductions were statistically significant compared to control (p < 0.01). Our data support the efficacy of TEAS analgesia. However, there was no significant difference between pain scores at 4 Hz and 32 Hz stimulation.