The purpose of this study was to investigate relationship between the shoulder pain and the flexibility of the shoulder in Japanese elite male water polo players. We also conducted to find the physical characteristics of the range of shoulder rotation. Subjects were Japanese elite male water polo players that was 30 (study 1) and 40 (study 2). We measured and compared shoulder flexibility by finger vertebral distance (FVD). In study 2, a standard universal goniometer was utilized to measure range of shoulder rotation with the arm in 90 degrees of abduction. There is significant correlation range of motion on the dominant shoulder showed significant decrease in internal rotation and increase external rotation. The results indicate that decrease exists in the shoulder flexibility of elite water polo players with pain. Furthermore, our findings suggest that prevention or rehabilitation of painful water polo player’s dominant shoulder is considered to be existing two reasons that are at risk of developing shoulder pain because of the repetitive nature of swimming combined with throwing.

The effects of electrical acupuncture at the patellar tendon and electrical stimulation of the femoral nerve on patellar tendon blood flow were evaluated using laser Doppler flowmetry in anesthetized rats. In most subjects the blood flow in the patellar tendon rapidly decreased for 30 seconds after the start of local electrical acupuncture and then increased above baseline. Changes in blood flow did not necessarily follow changes in arterial blood pressure. Changes in tendon blood flow induced by electrical stimulation of the femoral nerve were similar to those induced by electrical acupuncture at the patellar tendon. Arterial blood pressure and heart rate were not affected by electrical stimulation of the femoral nerve. Phentolamine administration abolished the decreased patellar tendon blood flow seen after initiating electrical acupuncture at the patellar tendon, whereas atropine abolished the increased patellar tendon blood flow seen after terminating electrical acupuncture at the patellar tendon. Furthermore, atropine did not evoke increased blood flow following electrical stimulation of the femoral nerve. These results suggest that the decrease of blood flow seen after initiating electrical acupuncture may be controlled by sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerves and the increase of blood flow following electrical acupuncture may be controlled by cholinergic vasodilator nerves.

We studied the clincal effect of the electrical acupuncture at pudendal nerve in four cases of lumbar spinal canal stenosis. The experimental effect of the direct electrical stimulation to the pudendal nerve on the blood flow of the sciatic nerve evaluated by Laser-Doppler flowmetry in anesthetized rats. Electrical acupuncture at pudendal nerve resulted in the improvement of the gait distance of all four cases. The specific effect of the electrical acupuncture at pudendal nerve was found in one case who did not show any improvement by the acupuncture at the intervertebral joint points. On one hand, the direct electrical stimulation to rats pudendal nerve resulted in the increase of the sciatic nerve blood flow, which were not evoked by administration of atropine. These results suggest that the electrical acupuncture at the pudensal nerve may be effective for the intermittent claudication of the lumbar spinal canal stenosis. The increased blood flow of the sciatic nerve may play one of the important roles in the effect via autonomic nervous system.

We applied electrical acupuncture to the spinal nerve root by inserting needles under x-ray control in two cases with radicular sciatica as a non-pharmacological substitute for the lumbar spinal nerve block. In both cases, symptoms were markedly reduced after electrical acupuncture to the spinal nerve root. The sustained effect was noticeably longer than that of caudal anesthesia previously performed one time on one of the cases. We suggest that descending inhibitory control, inhibitory control at the spinal level, or changes in nerve blood flow may be involved in the mechanism of the effect of electrical acupuncture to the spinal nerve root. These results suggest that electrical acupuncture to the spinal nerve root may be superior to lumbar spinal nerve block or caudal anesthesia when it is applied appropriately in certain cases of radicular sciatica, taking into consideration of patient age, severity of symptoms and duration of the disorder.

This study aimed to clarify whether a regional palliative care intervention program, the OPTIM project, increased home hospice utilization, and explore the potential association between the home hospice utilization and the hospital staff's perceptions on home care. A questionnaire survey was conducted involving 154 physicians and 469 nurses. The rate of patients who made the transition to home-based care increased 967% in A Hospital, 295% in B Hospital, and 221% in C Hospital in 2010 compared to 2007, which was assumed to be 100. Staff of a hospital where many patients made the transition to home-based care were more likely to agree with the following statements concerning home care perspectives: “I started to consider that even cancer patients can be treated at home until the last moment of their life”, “I usually ask patients whether they wish to receive home-based care”, “We decided on coping strategies for sudden changes in the course of disease and a place to contact in advance”, and “I started to simplify treatment procedures, such as prescriptions during hospitalization for patients and their families to prepare for home-based care“.

Objective: Snapping finger is the result of gliding disorder of the superficial and deep digital flexor tendon and the flexor pollicis longus muscle tendon at the synovial and ligamentous tendon sheath (A1 pulley). In this study, acupuncture was performed at the A1 pulley of the affected finger to determine its effect on pain during snapping and the degree of the snapping phenomenon. Methods: Acupuncture was performed on 19 fingers of 15 patients. No control group of untreated patients was included in the study, and the same acupuncture treatment was used for all of the patients. The acupuncture needles were inserted in the radial and ulnar sides of the flexor tendon (left inserted for 10 min) at the A1 pulley of the affected finger. Treatment was performed a maximum of 5 times (once every 5 to 7 days). Before and after each treatment, the pain during snapping and the degree of the snapping phenomenon were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS) ranging from 0 mm (no symptoms) to 100 mm (intolerable symptoms). Symptoms before the first treatment and before the fifth treatment were compared to determine the degree of change, taking a 50% improvement as the criterion for judging whether there was an improvement or not, and the relationship between improvement or lack of improvement and the duration of the disorder was examined. Results: VAS evaluation showed a significant improvement in pain during snapping and the degree of the snapping phenomenon with scores before the first treatment and before the fifth treatment of 57.1±22.2 (mm, mean±SD)→26.0±29.8, 61.2±23.1→26.1±27.6 respectively. VAS evaluation directly after the first treatment also showed a significant improvement in pain and the degree of the snapping phenomenon with scores of 40.8±19.6 and 44.3±23.9 respectively. Furthermore, by the fifth treatment, pain and the snapping phenomenon were observed to have completely disappeared in 4 and 6 fingers respectively. In patients showing an improvement in pain and the snapping phenomenon, the duration of the disorder was significantly short. Discussion: It is unlikely that acupuncture had an influence on the degeneration and thickening of the ligament tendon sheath. Improvement in the snapping phenomenon is thought to be the result of acupuncture treatment changing regional blood flow and thereby exerting a favorable influence on inflammatory swelling. The alleviation of pain during snapping is believed to be the result of improved flexor tendon gliding as well as the involvement of acupuncture in activation of the pain inhibitory system. Since no control group of untreated patients or sham treatment group were included in the study, the possibility of a placebo effect influencing the results cannot be completely excluded. However, because a difference was observed in the efficacy of the treatment depending on the duration of the disorder, the view is that acupuncture at the impaired A1 pulley could be effective treatment for snapping finger when the main cause is inflammatory swelling of the synovial membrane of the tendon sheath and when the duration of the disorder is short.

  Foot baths reportedly reduce pain and improve sleeplessness. In addition, foot baths may induce vasodilation, and thereby improve blood flow, reduce swelling, induce relaxation, and increase deep body temperature. However, the influence of foot baths on energy metabolism and physiological indices are unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to clarify the effects of foot baths on energy consumption and physiological indices (e.g., heart rate, tympanic temperature, and blood pressure). Nine healthy males were included in this study (age, 23.0±1.0 years; body weight, 66.5±5.6 kg; body fat percentage, 15.1±4.3%). Expired gas composition (i.e., oxygen and carbon dioxide consumption) was analyzed using the Food method in an environmentally-controlled room (room temperature 25°Cand humidity 40%). Subjects were rested in the hood during the measurement. After 30 min rest in the sitting position, a 30 min foot bath was performed, after which the subjects sat for 60 min. Expired gas composition and heart rate were measured over time, and tympanic temperature and blood pressure were measured every 15 min. The foot bath involved immersion of the knees, and the temperature of the water was maintained at 41°C. There were no significant changes in energy consumption after the foot bath, and no significant changes in heart rate, tympanic temperature, and blood pressure. Therefore, our results suggested that there were no significant energy metabolism changes after 30 min of foot bathing at 41°C.