[Introduction] It is known that BL 23, which is a part of the Bladder Meridian could be used as a remote acupuncture stimulation point for the effective treatment of lumbago. This study was designed to consider whether remote acupuncture point stimulus from other meridian points such as GB 34, GB 35 along the Gallbladder Meridian exerted any influence on the BL-meridian as part of a series of research elucidating characteristics of that BL 23 response.
[Methods] The BL23 response after acupuncture stimulation of GB 34 and GB 35 was measured in 21 lumbago patients and 21 healthy volunteers without lumbago. We also measured the BL 23 response from the BL 40 and BL 57, GB 34 and GB 35 acupuncture points cross-over stimulation by 6 lumbago patients and 7 healthy subjects without lumbago to confirm the BL23 response property.
[Results] The BL 23 response was significantly increased (p<0.05) by an acupuncture stimulation of GB 34 in all subjects, except females without lumbago. Unexpectedly, it was shown that GB 34 acupuncture elicited a significantly stronger (p<0.01) BL 23 response. These new findings confirmed the effects of acupuncture stimulation BL 40 and BL 57, GB 34 and GB 35 acupuncture points by a cross-over methods on the same sub-jects in 6 lumbago patients and 7 healthy volunteers without lumbago.
[Conclusion] In conclusion, as a new finding, these results indicate that the BL 23 response on the Bladder Meridian system is not merely altered by acupuncture points along the same meridian system, but also capable of change from another meridian system such as the Gallbladder Meridian, especially stimulation from of the GB 35 acupuncture point.