Acupuncture Analgesia: Impractical for routine surgery?

[Guest guest]

Hi All, & Hi Geoff & Alon,

 

Over the years, I have had 8 dental extractions (including an

impacted wisdom tooth) under self-administered electro-APA (high

intensity dense-disperse wave).

 

I used ipsilateral ST06 + Earlobe " Dental Anaesthesia Point " . See

Terry Oleson's earpoint charts at

http://Acupuncture.com/Acup/EarPoints.htm

 

5/8 extractions were painless, but 3/8 (including the impacted

wisdom tooth!) were painful to almost intolerable. However, post-

extraction bleeding was minimal or absent, and post-extraction

analgesia and healing were superb.

 

The consensus from my contacts with acupuncturists who have

used electro-APA in humans or animals is that the method is NOT

practical for routine use as a surgical analgesic. This is because:

 

(a) The induction time is rarely 10 minutes! More often, it is 20-40+

minutes. This is impractical in a busy surgery.

 

(b) The analgesia (or, more correctly, hypoalgesia) obtained is

unreliable; perfect analgesia may occur in only c. 30% of cases,

good to poor analgesia in 50-40% and no effect in 20-30% of cases.

 

© All sensations except that of pain remain inatct and the subject

has full motor power. In animals, a very high degree of physical

restraint is needed.

 

(e) Surgery must be deft, light and quick, becaause all vagal

reflexes are intact. Thus traction on thoracic or abdominal

organs/ligaments/membranes can induce nausea/vomiting/shock,

etc. Electro-APA is definitely NOT for ham-fisted surgeons!

 

However, electro-APA has a possible place in the following

situations:

 

(a) As part of Cocktail Anaesthesia (EAPA + reduced doses of

premedication, general anaesthetic and/or local anaesthetic);

 

(b) Disaster surgery (in warfare, national disasters, etc, where

conventional anaesthesia may not be possible);

 

© Patients with high risk of adverse effects to general

anaesthetics, such as those with severe LV, HT, LU or KI disorders;

 

(d) Caesarean section where there is risk of foetal autonomic

suppression by general anaesthetics.

 

For more details, enter APA or EAPA in the Holistic Option 1 in

the search engine at

http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/searchap.htm

 

Comments?

Best regards,

 

 

WORK : Teagasc Staff Development Unit, Sandymount Ave., Dublin 4, Ireland

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Email: <

Tel : 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

 

HOME : 1 Esker Lawns, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland

WWW : http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/searchap.htm

Email: <

Tel : 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

[Guest guest]

The induction time is rarely 10 minutes! More often, it is 20-40+ minutes. This is impractical in a busy surgery.>>>>>If you use 5000-10000Hz at high intensity you can get a nerve block with in 15min. Since areas often have redundant innervations one must be quite sophisticated to achieve really good blocks.

However acup is only reliably used in thyroid surgery. Abdominal surgeries require much more muscular relaxation than possible with acup.

Alon

[Guest guest]

wrote:

 

> 5/8 extractions were painless, but 3/8 (including the impacted

> wisdom tooth!) were painful to almost intolerable. However, post-

> extraction bleeding was minimal or absent, and post-extraction

> analgesia and healing were superb.

 

Phil,

 

What do you think were the reasons for 3/8 not meeting your

expectations? Certain locations of the teeth? Type of pain? Cause of pain?

 

> © All sensations except that of pain remain inatct and the subject

> has full motor power. In animals, a very high degree of physical

> restraint is needed.

 

That's one reason the nerve accomidation needs to be supported with shen

calming points to address the subjective pain that the e-stim isn't.

 

> However, electro-APA has a possible place in the following

> situations:

>

> (a) As part of Cocktail Anaesthesia (EAPA + reduced doses of

> premedication, general anaesthetic and/or local anaesthetic);

>

> (b) Disaster surgery (in warfare, national disasters, etc, where

> conventional anaesthesia may not be possible);

>

> © Patients with high risk of adverse effects to general

> anaesthetics, such as those with severe LV, HT, LU or KI disorders;

 

This was the reason for both of the acupuncture anethesia operations

that I observed in China. Both of the patients were elderly. However,

the acupuncture anesthesiologist was also the anesthesialogist for the

hospital, and so should the acupuncture anesthesia not work and the

patient experience discomfort, we had the conventional analgetic drugs

available as needed, which they never were.

 

--

Al Stone L.Ac.

<AlStone

http://www.BeyondWellBeing.com

 

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.