Our Experience in Neonatal Acupressure and Acupuncture Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Tuğrul Cabıoğlu Department of Physiology and Head of Acupuncture Departmant, Başkent University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey

Want to Share Our Experience in Newborns We want to share our experience about acupuncture and acupressure in newborns Acupuncture and acupressure are effective treatment method for a lot of diseases.

About Acupuncture and Acupressure Effect I am going to speak about our studies on the acupuncture and acupressure effect on minor painful procedures and skin perfusion in neonatal.

Ancient Healing Knowledge Health is the whole state of physical, psychological and social well-being. Ancient healing knowledge can be combined with modern healing knowledge to support the mother and her baby during newborn care.

Nonpharmacological Strategies Nonpharmacological applications are important for managing neonatal pain However, pharmacologic analgesic agents tend to have low effect. There are potential side effects in newborns.

Non-pharmacological Methods The most frequently used non-pharmacological methods are sucrose administration and non-nutritive-sucking for pain control Two different techniques have been used when applying acupuncture to newborns.

Acupuncture Techniques These two techniques are – 1)The needle is applied 2)The laser is applied

Pain Control in Preterm We studied 10 preterm infants who required a heel prick for blood gas analysis. In this study, needle acupuncture was inserted at the Yintang point before heel prick in acupuncture group. We observed shorter crying duration and lower pain scores in acupuncture group compared to untreated controls.

Endojen Opioids Increase in Plasma and Brain Tissue When an acupuncture needle is inserted, it stimulates pain receptors. It has been reported that the levels of endojen opioids increase in plasma and brain tissue after acupuncture application. Endojen opioids play a role in pain control.

Applying Acupressure at the UB 60 and K 3 Points When applying acupressure at the UB 60 and K 3 points before heel prick, shorter procedural time and duration of crying were observed in preterm infants. Acupressure stimulates peripheral sensory nerve endings and causes the release of vasoactive neuropeptides.

Local Vasodilation These mediators induce local vasodilation, thus increasing skin blood flow. In the acupressure group, increased blood supply around the malleolus as a result of acupressure might also have contributed to the shorter procedure time.

Laser Acupuncture at the Yintang Point We showed that laser acupuncture (LA) at the Yintang point two minutes before heel prick is less effective than oral sucrose for reducing discomfort. We found shorter procedure time in the LA group compared to the oral sucrose group.

Vasomodulatory Effect of LA However, there were longer crying times and worse NIPS scores in the LA group. Part of the explanation for this may be the vasomodulatory effect of LA on endothelium and vascular smooth muscle.

Acupressure Application on the Yintang Point on Neonatal Skin Perfusion We showed the impact of acupressure application on the Yintang point on neonatal skin perfusion, oxygen saturation and pulse rate. it was found that after acupressure application on the Yintang point, the pulse rate value in newborns decreased significantly.

Decreases Sympathetic Activity Acupressure application on the Yintang point decreases sympathetic activity. The study done by Arai et al. also demonstrated that acupressure application on the Yintang point significantly decreases sympathetic activity.

Conclusion I Acupressure and acupuncture has to decrease neonatal exposure to neurotoxic analgesic and sedative agents. In newborn care, traditional medicine could be combined with modern medical care.

Conclusion II Using acupressure and acupuncture for minor painful procedures in newborns could be a simple, quick and safe way of treatment. Further studies would be helpful to use in acupressure and acupuncture for pain control in newborns.