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Acupuncture covering the depth ranges for BL18, BL20, and BL22 and their targeting of various tissues potentially alleviates sympathetic nerve issues and ischemia with assistance of the diaphragm.
2022 Medicine Anatomical structures and needling method of the back-shu points BL18, BL20, and BL22 related to gastrointestinal organs: A PRISMA-compliant systematic review of acupoints and exploratory mechanism analysis Cho Y, Han Y, Kim Y, Han S, Oh K, Chae H, et al.
Systematic Review Back-shu point Back-Shu Points Digestive Health
Review analyzed 115 articles on needling depth and angle for back-shu acupuncture points in GI diseases. Key findings include the depth range for BL18, BL20, and BL22 points, their targeting of muscles, nerves, and diaphragmatic tissues, and the potential for acupuncture to alleviate sympathetic nerve overexcitability and ischemia while emphasizing the diaphragm's role in digestive function.
Acupuncture on back-shu points of five zang, significantly improves both the physical and mental fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome patients, along with enhancing their psychological status.
2018 World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Acupuncture on back-shu points of five zang for chronic fatigue syndrome: A randomized control trial CHEN S, LIU R, WU B, CHEN S, GUO F, XUE X, et al.
Randomised Controlled Trial Back-Shu Points Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
In this study, sixty patients divided into a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group received acupuncture on the back-shu points of five zang organs. Techniques used included perpendicular and oblique needling, lifting-thrusting, and twisting-twirling, each acupoint being attended for 10 seconds. In contrast, the control group received the treatment outward of these points without seeking deqi, a sensation linked to effective needling, and with no manipulation. Both groups received treatments twice a week, each lasting twenty minutes, and to a total of eight treatments.
The study's results showed that there was a higher effective treatment rate seen in the group who received acupuncture on back-shu points than the control group. Physical and mental fatigue scores, assessed using Fatigue Scale-14, were significantly reduced post-treatment in the treatment group. Moreover, the Symptom Check-List 90, used to measure the patient's psychological status, showed notable improvement in the treatment group, demonstrating that the acupuncture approach used in the treatment group improved not just physical and mental fatigue but also the patients' psychological state. While the treatment rendered a positive impact on the control group too, the outcome was more pronounced in the treatment group.