| 摘要: | This study investigated the real-time effects of laser acupoint stimulation of the acupuncture point Taichong (LR3), on blood pressure and heart rate. Eighteen subjects were included in this single-blind, repeated-measures study. All subjects received sham (placebo) and active laser treatment in sequence. The sham laser treatment was conducted identically to the active laser treatment, but without any power supplied to the laser. The acupuncture point used in this study was LR3 (Taichong). For blood pressure, the active treatment was administered for a total of 7 min. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart beats per minute were reduced significantly by 15 mmHg, 11.5 mmHg, and 5 beats/min, respectively after the active treatment. There were no significant differences in these parameters after the placebo treatment. With regard to heart rate variability, normalized low frequency (nLF) before-during, during-after, and before-after the active treatment were reduced by 3.19 ± 3.06, 6.67 ± 3.35, and 9.86 ± 2.05, respectively. The nHF were reduced by -3.19 ± 3.06, -6.67 ± 3.35, -9.86 ± 2.05, respectively. The low-frequency/high-frequency ratios (LF/HFs) were reduced by 0.82 ± 5.05, 0.68 ± 0.35, and 1.5 ± 0.38, respectively, after the active treatment. The only significant change was before-after treatment. There were no significant changes after the placebo treatment. It was concluded that low-level laser treatment of the acupoint resulted in “real time” lowered blood pressure, via stimulation of LR3. A significant difference was observed in heart rate variability after the laser acupoint treatment. |
