ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2021
Electroacupuncture and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Induced Sensations in Bell's Palsy Patients: A Quantitative Current Intensity Analysis.
Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Application of facial neuromuscular electrical stimulation (fNMES) in psychophysiological research: Practical recommendations based on a systematic review of the literature.Behavior research methods · 2024Guideline
- The efficacy of electroacupuncture in among early diabetic patients with lower limb arteriosclerotic wounds.International wound journal · 2024Trial
- Electrical Stimulation-Induced Modulation of Small Extracellular Vesicles in Regenerative Therapy.Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine · 2026Review
- Application of patient-reported outcomes in clinical trials of traditional Chinese medicine registered in international clinical trials registry platform, from 2010 to 2022: a cross-sectional study.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2026Article
- Preoperative electroacupuncture for prevention of postoperative delirium in older adults undergoing total knee arthroplasty: protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial.Annals of medicine · 2025Article
- When sng meets acupuncture -- a paradigm-shift biomarker for translational research.Journal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2025Review
- Case Report: A rare case of tuberculous otitis media mimicking chronic suppurative otitis media - an ongoing challenge.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Combination of Manual Acupuncture, Penetrating Needling, and Electroacupuncture to Treat Bell's Palsy.Medical acupuncture · 2023Article
- Global Trends and Performances of Acupuncture Therapy on Bell's Palsy from 2000 to 2023: A Bibliometric Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2023Review
- Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation for Moderate to Severe Pain in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundThe intensity of electrical acupoint stimulation such as electroacupuncture (EA) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is regulated by the observation of skin shivering or the participant's comfort response. However, the specific intensity and spatial scope following EA or TENS stimulation are unclear.
objectiveThis study aimed to test the stimulatory current intensities of lower and upper sensation thresholds in TENS- and EA-based treatment of Bell's palsy patients. Also, the spatial scope of the stimulation at these current intensities was simulated and measured quantitatively.
methodsA total of 19 Bell's palsy patients were recruited. Six acupoints on the affected side of the face were stimulated by TENS and EA successively at 30-min intervals. During the stimulation, the current intensity was regulated gradually from 0 to 20 mA, and we simultaneously measured the lower (sensory) and upper (tolerability) sensations. After the treatment by TENS and EA, the modified Chinese version of the Massachusetts General Hospital Acupuncture Sensation Scales (C-MMASS) was applied to survey the de-qi sensations during stimulation. Additionally, we analyzed the correlation between current intensities and C-MMASS and comfort scores. Finite element models were established to depict the spatial distribution of electric field gradients at the lower and upper thresholds.
resultsThe mean sensory and tolerability thresholds of TENS were 3.91-4.37 mA and 12.33-16.35 mA, respectively. The median sensory and tolerability thresholds of EA were 0.2 mA and 2.0-3.2 mA, respectively. We found a significant correlation between total C-MMASS scores and the current intensities at the tolerability threshold of TENS. The finite element model showed that the activated depths of TENS and EA at the lower threshold were 3.8 and 7 mm, respectively, whereas those at the upper threshold were both 13.8 mm. The cross-sectional diameter of the activated area during TENS was 2.5-4 times larger than that during EA.
conclusionThis pilot study provided a method for exploring the current intensity at which the de-qi sensations can be elicited by TENS or EA. The finite element analysis potentially revealed the spatial scope of the electrical stimulation at a specific current intensity.
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