Acupuncture has been recognized as an useful treatment for muscle pain, muscle fatigue and muscle hypertonus in sports medicine. This study developed an experimental model to investigate the effect of acupuncture on muscular disorders.
Twenty-seven rabbits, anesthetized with pentobarbital (i. v.) were used. The anterior tibial muscle was exposed, and the distal end of the tendon was cut then attached to the push-pull gauge and tension during the isometric contraction induced by electrical stimulation of the muscle was recorded.
The tension was measured immediately before and 15, 30, 45 and 60min after the electrical stimulation. The frequencies of 1, 10, 20, 30, and 50Hz were used as the conditioning stimulation (1ms in duration, 60s).
Tension was decreased after the conditioning electrical stimulation of muscle. High frequency of stimuli tended to induce a marked decrease in tension.
Acupuncture stimulation (leaving the needle in place for 10min) reduced the decrement of the evoked tension by 30Hz tetanic stimulus significantly (p<0.05), and enhanced the recovery. Occlusion of the blood vessel supplying the muscle potentiated the decrement of evoked tension, and acupuncture stimulation still reduced the initial decrement of the evoked tension, suggesting that acupuncture acted on the blood flow in the muscle. After transection of the nerve innervating the muscle, acupuncture stimulation still demonstreted the same effect.
These results suggest that the acupuncture stimulation induces vasodilatation by axon reflex and the subsequent increase in blood flow to the muscle induces the recovery of reduced tension by tetanic contraction.

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Health conditions were surveyed in elderly Persons (over sixty-five years old) liveing in two towns in Kyoto prefecture. The questionnaires were handed out and collected later. Seven hundred and sixty five elderly persons living in Hiyosi-cho, an area of agriculture and forestry, and six hundred and eight elderly persons living in Tango-cho, an area of agriculture and fishery, turned in the questionnaires.
On investigation it was found that elderly people living in the two towns had many symptoms or diseases. The incidence of these symptoms and diseases was over two times as high as the mean value discovered in the general elderly population nation wide. Symptoms and diseases noted included low back pain, shoulder stiffness, foot pain, hypertension, pollakiuria, cold feet, knee joint pain, eye diseases, shoulder pain and arm pain in descending order of frequency. Low back pain was noted in about 46 per cent.

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A series of cases underwent acupuncture treatment for frozen shoulder at our clinic.
1. Twenty-one cases of frozen shoulder were collected.
2. Fifteen cases (71%) Showed improvement in pain and activities of daily life (ADL) during the course of acupuncture treatment.
3. Temporary relief from pain during motion (67%), pain during rest (44%), and pain during the night (56%) was obtained after acupuncture treatment.
4. Patients whose pain was not reduced after treatment tended to drop out.
Acupuncture treatment for frozen shoulder was effective for reducing pain, and it is expected to prevent contracture when combined with exercise.

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More than 3 years have passed since the guideline for infection prevention at acupuncture and moxibustion clinics was issued. We studied changes in the attitude toward sanitization of the environment and consciousness about infection prevention at acupuncture and moxibustion clinics during this period. The subjects were members of the Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies of Kyoto and Osaka (n=349). About 70% of the subjects felt anxiety about infections, and nearly 80% of them were interested in sanitizing the clinics. More than half (57%) of the subjects were using both disposable and reusable needles, and about half the subjects disposed of used needles without sterilization. Concerning the linen, pillow covers were changed for every patient by about 70% of the subjects, but towels and sheets were changed by only 20% and 10%, respectively. White coats were changed within 1 week by about 70% of the subjects. Most subjects answered that the clinics were cleaned everyday, but less than a half of them sterilize slippers. About half the subjects answered that curtains were washed every 3-6 months. Autoclaves were placed in only 90% of the clinics. Attention to preventive measures against infection of therapists tended to diminish with increase in the clinical experience.

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