Acupuncture De-qi: From Characterization to Underlying Mechanism

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013:2013:518784. doi: 10.1155/2013/518784. Epub 2013 Sep 8.

Abstract

De-qi refers to the participant's subjective sensations and objective body responses as well as the acupuncturist's perceptions while the acupuncturist needles certain acupoints in the participant's body. In recent years, De-qi is getting increasing attention of the researchers and many efforts have been made to understand its mechanism. By the broad literature survey, this paper explores the subjective De-qi sensation of the patients, its influencing factors, and the resulting physiological responses. The purpose of this paper is expected to find out a possible mechanism of De-qi and to provide certain scientific evidence for acupuncture fundamental research and clinical practice.

Publication types

  • Review