Is Skin-Touch Sham Needle Not Placebo? A Double-Blind Crossover Study on Pain Alleviation

Miho Takayama; Hiroyoshi Yajima; Akiko Kawase; Ikuo Homma; Masahiko Izumizaki; Nobuari Takakura

doi:10.1155/2015/152086

Is Skin-Touch Sham Needle Not Placebo? A Double-Blind Crossover Study on Pain Alleviation

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015:2015:152086. doi: 10.1155/2015/152086. Epub 2015 May 7.

Authors

Miho Takayama¹, Hiroyoshi Yajima¹, Akiko Kawase², Ikuo Homma³, Masahiko Izumizaki⁴, Nobuari Takakura¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tokyo Ariake University of Medical and Health Sciences, 2-9-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0063, Japan ; Department of Physiology, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, Japan ; Japan School of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Physiotherapy, 20-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0031, Japan ; The Foundation for Oriental Medicine Research, 28-9 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0031, Japan.
² Department of Physiology, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, Japan ; Japan School of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Physiotherapy, 20-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0031, Japan ; The Foundation for Oriental Medicine Research, 28-9 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0031, Japan.
³ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tokyo Ariake University of Medical and Health Sciences, 2-9-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0063, Japan ; Department of Physiology, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, Japan ; The Foundation for Oriental Medicine Research, 28-9 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0031, Japan.
⁴ Department of Physiology, Showa University School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, Japan.

Abstract

It remains an open question whether placebo/sham acupuncture, in which the needle tip presses the skin, can be used as a placebo device for research on pain. We compare the analgesic effect of the skin-touch placebo needle with that of the no-touch placebo needle, in which the needle tip does not touch the skin, in a double-blind crossover manner including no-treatment control in 23 healthy volunteers. The subjects received painful electrical stimulation in the forearm before and during needle retention to the LI 4 acupoint and after the removal of the needle and rated pain intensity using a visual analogue scale. We found no significant difference in analgesic effects among the skin-touch placebo needle, no-touch placebo needle, and no-treatment control at every point before, during, and after the treatments (p > 0.05). The results indicate that the skin-touch placebo needle can be used as a placebo device in clinical studies on pain.