Effectiveness of Acupuncture Clinical Pathway

The electro-acupuncture device was a biphasic pulse generator. It was used with maximum tolerable intensity of current and a frequency of 3 Hz. The points were selected according to the Traditional Chinese Medicine meridian theory to treat the different painful syndromes. Just as in a regular acupuncture treatment, needles are inserted into acupuncture points but small crocodile clips are then attached to the ends of needles to connect them to an electro-acupuncture device. In traditional acupuncture the inserted needles are manually vibrated to induce a response whilst in electro-acupuncture the bi-phasic current results in a constant (controlled) vibration of the needles and a direct electrical stimulation.