Survey the change of skin surface temperature at the face when using tonifying or dispersing acupuncture manipulations at dazhui acupoint in healthy volunteers

Abstract

In addition to stimulating specific acupoints, acupuncture uses manipulations with varying effects. For Dazhui acupoint, tonifying acupuncture clears heat, while dispersing acupuncture dissipates it. This study aims to compare changes in facial skin temperature caused by these techniques in healthy volunteers. The single-blinded, randomized controlled trial involved 57 healthy volunteers aged 18–30, undergoing three sessions of acupuncture with a one-week interval. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups with different acupuncture sequences: sham-tonifying-dispersing, tonifying-dispersing-sham, and dispersing-sham-tonifying. Acupuncture sessions lasted 30 min, and facial skin temperatures were measured at five time points using a FLIR C5 thermal camera. We recorded that tonifying acupuncture at the Dazhui acupoint led to a significant increase from 34.30 °C (33.65–35.20 °C) to 35.40 °C (34.85–35.85 °C) in facial skin temperature while dispersing acupuncture led to a significant decrease from 34.90 °C (33.95–35.65 °C) to 34.00 °C (33.00–34.75 °C). Compared to the sham group, both tonifying and dispersing acupuncture showed significant differences in skin temperature. The variation in skin temperature between tonifying and dispersing acupuncture was also statistically significant. These results show that acupuncture at the Dazhui acupoint can influence facial skin temperature, establishing a relationship between this acupoint and facial physiology. Moreover, the contrasting skin temperature responses to tonifying and dispersing acupuncture techniques at Dazhui validate their distinct physiological effects.