Group | Acupoints | Stimulation parameters |
---|---|---|
Strong EA group | Neixiyan | Direct current, continuous wave, at 2 Hz frequency and with 0.5 ms pulse width for 30 minutes. Maximum tolerable intensity of current will be delivered, 2 mA < current < 5 mA. EX-LE5 will be connected to ST35 and SP10 will be connected to ST34 with a pair of electrodes. |
(EX-LE5) | ||
Dubi (ST35) | ||
Liangqiu (ST34) | ||
Xuehai (SP10) | ||
Weak EA group | Neixiyan | Stimulation indexes and acupoint’ connections are the same as in the strong EA group, but the patients will just feel the sensations of current, 0 mA < current <0.5 mA. |
(EX-LE5) | ||
Dubi (ST35) | ||
Liangqiu (ST34) | ||
Xuehai (SP10) | ||
Sham EA group | The sites are 2Â cm lateral to the above | Fine needles will be inserted superficially into the sites 2Â cm lateral to the above four points with low-intensity current as same as in the weak EA group. |
four points |