Meridians
Conditions
Keywords
heart and lung meridians, site specificity, infrared thermography, moxibustion, thermal transport
Brief summary
Although some important progresses were made in the field of the meridian research, no breakthroughs have been achieved. Besides,there are some problems in meridian researches. Particularly, previous research of meridian phenomenon involved lots of subjective elements and outcomes. Researches that use modern scientific techniques to investigate the biological characteristics of meridian phenomenon are urgently needed. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the heat transport characteristics of meridian phenomenon for the Heart and Lung meridians by using infrared thermography. Thus, the biological characteristics of meridian phenomenon could be presented objectively in a scientific methodology.
Detailed description
80 eligible subjects were finally included. Among them, 40 participants were assigned to the lung meridian intervention group, and 40 participants were assigned to the heart meridian intervention group. All 80 participants completed the trial.
Interventions
PROCEDUREMoxibustion
In this study, suspended moxibustion was performed by holding an ignited moxa stick at a certain distance (about 3-4 cm) over the skin surface, keeping the moxibustion Site warm without burning the skin. In the heart meridian intervention group, moxibustion was applied over Site 4 (HT3) of the heart meridian. In the lung meridian intervention group, moxibustion was performed over Site 1 (LU5) of the lung meridian.
Sponsors
The Third Affiliated hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
20 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Had recent medical examination records confirming the absence of cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, urinary, hematological, endocrine and neurological diseases * 20 ≤ age ≤ 40 years, male or female * Had the ability to communicate with others normally * An understanding of the entire study protocol * Signed written informed consent
Exclusion criteria
* Had mental illnesses, severe depression, alcohol dependence or a history of drug abuse * Pregnant or lactating * Were participating in other trials
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature change of relevant sites | Baseline, Moxibustion 5 min, Moxibustion 10 min, Moxibustion 15 min, 5 minutes after stopping moxibustion | Infrared thermal imaging was used to record baseline temperature and the temperature change of corresponding sites along the Heart and Lung meridians. |
Countries
China
Outcome results
None listed