El campo receptivo de acupuntura y neurodinámica de los puntos de acupuntura

Abstract

Acupuncture points are essential for diagnosis and treatment in acupuncture. They are usually described in books and charts as a system of channels distributed along the body in precise and fixed places. However, despite its acceptance by academics, clinicians, and researchers, experimental evidence regarding the location and specificity of the acupoints is controversial. In this article we showed neurophysiological evidence to propose to propose that: a) the acupuncture point corresponds to an acupuncture receptive field of sensory neurons; and b) in situations such as pain and inflammation this receptive field is modified, showing neurodynamic and neuroplastic properties. Such changes in the peripheral nerve arborizations are associated with the organic conditions of the patient. Contextualization of the acupuncture receptive field is also consistent with mechanisms of acupoint sensitivity and unmasking of new acupuncture points, which would allow the understanding of similar clinical outcomes when puncturing sites close to acupuncture points. Likewise, this proposal emphasizes that for the design and execution of clinical trials, “control points” should be used away from the acupuncture receptive fields, to avoid biases in the results interpretation about clinical investigations with acupuncture.