Research Article Acupressure at the Meridian Acupoint Xiyangguan (GB33) Influences Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Parameters (Regional Oxygen Saturation) in Deeper Tissue of the Knee in Healthy Volunteers

Copyright © 2013 Gerhard Litscher et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Up to now, it is still unknown whether microcirculation of deeper peripheral tissue (knee) can be modulated by acupuncture or acupressure on a meridian acupoint.The goal of this pilot study was to investigate possible effects of acupressure at the Xiyangguan acupoint (GB33) on the regional oxygen saturation of the deeper knee tissues by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Twelve healthy volunteers with a mean age of 23.8 ± 1.6 years were investigated. Acupressure stimulation was performed for 5 minutes at the Xiyangguan acupoint. The results of the controlled study showed a significant increase of the values of regional oxygen saturation on the stimulated side of the knee