Four fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) patients with complaints of widespread pain, fatigue and difficulty sleeping received acupuncture therapy. The effects of acupuncture treatment were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS), and a pain disability assessment scale (PDAS). After whole body acupuncture treatments, VAS and PDAS values were almost unchanged. However, VAS and PDAS values improved following a 3-treatment course of FMS-specific acupuncture treatments (electroacupuncture at the characteristic tender points of FMS). These results suggest that FMS-specific acupuncture treatment of fibromyalgia patients may relieve their commonly reported symptoms of pain, and fatigue.

Epicodylitis humeri lateralis is common in indivisuals whose occupations require frequent rotatory motion of the forearm. An ache appears over the outer aspect of the elbow and is reffered into the forearm. The patients with epicodylitis humeri lateralis were often treated by acupuncture therapy. We treated the patients by means of acupuncture therapy with silver spike point therapy and streching of the extensors of the forearm, in Meiji College of Oriental Medicine Hospital. In order to clarify the effect of our therapy, we valuated clinical results by using pain scale score. We treated 13 patients (male 4, female 9, mean age 49.2 years). In our therpy, acupuncture points and SSP points, which were on the area from the lateral epicondyle to the extensors of the forearm, were used. And we made the patients to do streching of extensors of the forearm. The pain scale scale score improved from 10 points to 3.8 points after the treatments, 15% were excellent, 77% were good, and 8% fair. The results suggested that our therapy improves the symptoms of epicodylitis humeri lateralis.

Case Report : Acupuncture therapy for a fibromyalgia-like syndrome (FMS-like) patient. A 44-year-old woman complained of widespread pain, fatigue and poor quality sleep. Effects of acupuncture treatment were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS), pain disability assessment scale (PDAS) and pressure pain thresholds (PPT) at tender sites of FMS. After 13 whole body acupuncture treatments PPT, VAS and PDAS were almost unchanged. However, three FMS-specific acupuncture treatments (eletroacupuncture at characteristic tender sites of FMS) increased PPT and improved VAS and PDAS. These results suggest that FMS-specific acu-puncture treatment may relieve widespread pain and fatigue symptoms in FMS-like patients.

[Objective] We analyzed the clinical findings in 5 patients with osteonecrosis in the medial condyle of the tibia. We also evaluated the usefulness of a tibial percussion test that we developed for examination of differences between the healthy and affected sides in percussion caused by knocking on the tibial rough surface.
[Methods] The subjects were 5 females, who consulted our hospital with a chief complaint of gonalgia and in whom conditions such as osteonecrosis in the medial condyle of the tibia were confirmed by MRI in 4 limbs. In addition to X-p, MRI findings, medical findings by interview, and findings by physical examination were evaluated as clinical findings. Furthermore, the tibial percussion test was performed.
[Results] The causes of pain in the knee joint were unclear in all patients. Pain was severe in 3 patients and marked in 2 patients. Physical examination showed marked tenderness in the medial articular gap and tenderness in the medial condyle of the tibia. In all patients, a difference in the percussion findings between the healthy and affected sides was confirmed by the tibial percussion test.
[Conclusions] These findings indicated that the tibia percussion test in addition to confirmation of characteristic clinical conditions, such as the initial condition of the disease and the severity of tenderness, is useful for the evaluation of conditions of this disease.

[Purpose] This study investigated sports injuries in university students and compared two different acupuncture therapy procedures for chronic low back pain (LBP).
[Method] The questionnaire (12 items) was distributed to members of sports clubs at Meiji University of Oriental Medicine. Patients with LBP resulting from sports injuries who had had low back pain for more than a year were treated by two different acupuncture therapy procedures. There were no abnormal findings in their neurological examinations.
[Result] The questionnaire response rate was 68.6%. The overall prevalence rate of sports injuries was 77.6%, and LBP patients were the most common. On the other hand, during and after the preceding therapy, using the traditional acupoints for LBP, there was no remarkable clinical effect on LBP, whereas during and after the succeeding therapy using the trigger point, there were remarkable clinical effects on LBP, as evaluated by the visual analogue scale.
[Conclusion] These results suggest that trigger point acupuncture therapy may be more effective on chronic LBP in sports than therapy which uses traditional acupuncture.

[Objective]To evaluate the efficacy of the different depth of acupuncture on the motor function and the pain with osteoarthritis of the knee.
[Design]Single blind randomized controlled trial.
[Method]Subjects were randomly allocated to one of two groups. Acupuncture needles were inserted about 3mm in the superficial acupuncture group and 10 to 20 mm in the deep acupuncture group. Subjects in both groups received the treatments for ten minutes on ten tender points. Acupuncture sessions were performed once a week for 8 weeks and without treatment 4 weeks.
[Outcome Measures]Pain intensity (visual analogue scale :VAS) , Objective evaluation of the motor function (Timed Up &Go test, 20m walking time, Time of going up and down stairs) and QOL (Western Ontario and MacMaster Universities osteoarthritis index :WOMAC).
All measurements were recorded at baseline, 4th, 8th and 11thweek.
[Result]Motor function improved significantly only in the superficial acupuncture group(P<0.05). The degree of pain decreased significantly in both groups (P<0.05).
[Conclusion]Superficial acupuncture provided the improvements on pain and motor function and contributed to the QOL improvement. Therefore the superficial acupuncture would be suggested to be one of the most effective method for the acupuncture treatment of OA of the knee.

The osteoarthritis of knee joints in early stage were treated with acupuncture, SSP and therapeutic exercise. The clinical effect of this treatment was evaluated by the our original score methoed for osteoarthritis of knee joints, and the muscle strength of extensors of knee joint were measured. Symptoms of the osteoarthritis of knee joints were improved significantly and the power of the extensors increased by these treatments.

The patients with the spondylosis deformans of the lumbar spine are often treated by acupuncture therapy. Forty patients (male 28, female 12, mean age 61.2 years old) with spondylosis deformans of lumbar spine were treated by the acupuncture therapy with therapeutic exercise and silver spike point (SSP) therapy in Meiji College of Oriental Medicine Hospital. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical effect of our therapy using our painscale score. In our therapy, acupuncture points (Dachangshu-BL25, Shenshu-BL23, Ciliao-BL32, Baohuang-BL53 etc.) and SSP points on erector spinae muscle and gluteal muscle were used. As the result of this study, 22.5 % had excellent effect and 55.0 % had good effect by our therapy. It was concluded that our therapy is one of considerably effective therapy for the spondylosis deformans of the lumbar spine.