Observation On Skin Temperature Difference Between Acupoints And Posterior Cave In Patients With Low Back Pain

Objective:To observe the relationship between temperature differences of bilateral acupoints and lower back pain. The study aims to find out if there are trends between temperature differences of bilateral acupoints from different meridians, so as to serve as a possible guide for the diagnosis of lower back pain. Contributing factors to lower back pain were also analysed.Methods:Lower back pain patients who fulfil the eligibility criteria were recruited for the study. Temperatures of bilateral well-points from the twelve meridians and Hou-Xi(SI 3) were recorded using an AZ8852 temperature device manufactured by AZ Instrument Corp.(Taiwan), and their absolute differences calculated.Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 17.0 software. Bilateral temperature differences of the twelve meridians and Hou-Xi(SI 3) were compared to pick out the unbalanced meridians among lower back pain patients. Analysis was also carried out on the contributing factors to lower back pain.Results:(1)Well-point temperature differences at the six lower limb meridians were greater than those of the six upper limb meridians. Temperature differences of meridians in descending order:Bladder (BL), Gallbladder (GB), Kidney (KI), Stomach (ST), Spleen (SP), Liver (LR). Zhi-Yin (BL 67) from the Bladder meridian has the largest temperature difference while Shao-Chong (HT 9) from the Heart meridian has the smallest temperature difference. Temperature difference of Yin-Bai (SP 1) from the Spleen Meridian is greater in patients who have no leg pain. Among patients who present with leg numbness, the Gallbladder (GB) meridian has the greatest temperature difference. Lower back pain patients with leg pain and accompanying numbness have smaller lower limb temperature differences as compared to patients who have leg pain with no numbness.(2)The temperature difference of Hou-Xi (SI 3) is less than 0.5℃.(3)Gender, age, BMI, VAS and JOA score of lower back pain patients are factors which affect the number of meridians with temperature differences greater than 0.5℃.(4)Age and duration of lower back pain have a positive correlation; age and VAS have a positive correlation; VAS and JOA score have a negative correlation; JOA score and duration of lower back pain have a negative correlation.Conclusions:(1)Among lower back pain patients, all the six lower limb meridians show signs of imbalance. Among these, the Bladder (BL) meridian is the most unbalanced, followed by the Gallbladder (GB) and Kidney (KI) meridian. We can thus infer that these three meridians have the closest relation to lower back pain.(2) From the data collected in this study, there is no definite association between Hou-Xi (SI 3) and lower back pain.(3) Gender, age, BMI, VAS and JO A scores are factors which have an impact on temperature differences of the various well-points, but the extent of their impact is still inconclusive.(4) Older patients are likely to experience a longer duration of lower back pain and have higher VAS scores; patients who experience a longer duration of lower back pain and patients with higher VAS scores are likely to present with more severe functional abnormalities.