The acupuncture and moxibustion have been the physical therapeutic method developed in the Orient last thousands years.
Oriental medicine is composed of four diagnosis, they are (Bo-inspection) (Bun-ausculation) (Mon-question) (Setu-palpation with pressure).
The four diagnostic methods can make up disease pattern by specifying the subjective symptoms and body surface finding (tenderness, induration, sence of cold and heat) of patient as evidence of changes in KEIRAKU relation to organ system.
Oriental medical diagnostic have been performed on the ear, nose and throat disease since last few years. And it is concluded that Oriental medical diagnoses are valuable in the treatment and prognosis of disease.
Stellate ganglion stimulation by acupuncture reduce or increase pain in a patient with migraine, in sonic cases. So that, diagnostic significance of the stellate ganglion stimulation was followed.
1) Stellate ganglion stimulation by acupuncture often increases or decreases subjective symptoms such as pain or tinnitus.
Patients who are stimulated their stellate ganglion by acupuncture have the feeling like burning or pressed, sometimes. But these phenomena are different from Horner's signs due to stellate ganglion block.
These reactions were founded in 60 cases out of 97 patients. who have tinnitus, sudden deafness, dizziness or headache.
2) After stellate ganglion stimulation by acupuncture, pulses and blood pressure don't show any change. But recovering times of the temperature with cold hands were shortened by this stimulation.
3) These reactions were found in 40 cases of 62 patients that were tested by this stimulation.
Among 40 cases with these reactions, 29 cases (72.5%) had good prognosis. But among 22 cases with no reactions, 13 cases (59%) had poor prognosis. Prognosis was supposed to be decided by acupuncture reaction. Relation between the reactions of such patients and their prognosis was found clearing in headache.
The reaction of the stellate ganglion stimulation by acupuncture is useful in suspecting the prognosis of each patients who have disfunction disease such as migraine.