Operation Procedure and Precautions of Lingnan Fire-Needle Therapy in Osteoporosis Model Rats

Summary

Here, we present a protocol for the application of Lingnan Fire-Needle therapy in the intervention of osteoporosis model rats.

Abstract

Compared to filiform needle therapy, fire-needle therapy has both the stimulation of needles and the warming effect of heat, making it have unexpected effects on some chronic diseases and incurable diseases. Osteoporosis (OP) has a high incidence in postmenopausal women and middle-aged and elderly men, and the treatment cycle is long. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Lingnan fire-needle therapy has shown potential in treating osteoporosis. However, there is still a long way to go before it can be widely used. This article focuses on the application of Lingnan fire-needle therapy in the intervention of OP in rats. It covers the selection of needle tools, acupuncture point selection, positioning of rats' bodies, and fixation methods. We also outline the steps and precautions to be taken during and after needling with fire needles. The experiment was done with three groups: a normal group, a model group, and a fire-needle group, each containing 10 rats. The rats in the fire-needle group were treated with fire-needle intervention for six sessions. After the intervention period, we collected femoral specimens and performed micro-CT scans. The results suggest that fire needling can enhance bone morphology and mineral density in OP rats. This information can serve as a methodological basis for conducting basic research on fire-needle therapy.

Introduction

Chinese medicine believes that factors such as climate and environment can affect a person's physique, which in turn affects the occurrence and development of diseases. The Lingnan region of China, mainly including Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan Island, is located in the tropical monsoon climate region. As a result, people living in this region for a long time are prone to a form of spleen deficiency. In some cases, it spreads to the kidney and liver, leading to the prevalence of osteoporosis¹. The spleen and stomach function in transporting and absorbing water and grains, which are the source of qi and blood biochemistry, while the liver h....

Protocol

All experiments were carried out following the National Institutes of Health - Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and were approved by the Hubei University of TCM - Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Adult female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, weighing 220 ± 20 g, were used for the test. All rats were maintained on a 12 h light/dark cycle at 23 ± 1 °C and 40%-50% humidity, with free access to food and water.

1. Pre-operative preparation

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Discussion

Lingnan fire-needle therapy has a profound historical background. Records on fire needles and needling methods can be traced back to Huangdi Neijing. Modern acupuncturists Situ Bell and Zhang Jiawei combined Lingnan's climate and the physical characteristics of its people to create Lingnan fire-needle therapy³. Lin Guohua summarized Lingnan Fire-Needle therapy, as warming, dredging, tonifying, clearing, and eliminating, with warming as the essence²⁴.

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
75% Alcohol	Shandong Lircon medicaltechnology co., ltd		Disinfection
95% Alcohol	Shandong Lircon medicaltechnology co., ltd		Burn needles
Adult female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats	Liaoning Changsheng biotechnology co., Ltd.	SCXK 2020-0001	Modeling of osteoporosis
Deluxe thermostat heat mat	Zhenhua Instruments		For maintaining the body temperature of rats.
Diclofenac sodium injection	Shandong Province Jianmu Bio-pharmaceutical Co.	150182913	Antipyretic and analgesic
Elevated fixation rack	Taizhou Shi Ai Scientific and Educational Instruments and Equipment Co.		Fix rats
Fire needles	Beijing Luoya Shanchuan Medical Equipment Co., Ltd.	20190240	A tool of needling
Hemostatic forceps	Qingdao Schultz Biotechnology Co.		Fix rats
Liguter	Shanghai Machi Trading Co.	H5	Ignite alcohol
Lodophor disinfecting solution	Qingdao Hai's Hainuo Inovation Disinfection Technology Co., Ltd.	2016-0604	Disinfection
Medical cotton ball	Jiangsu Misawa Medical Supplies Co., Ltd.	20172142357	Disinfection
pentobarbital sodium	Beijing Jiehui Biotechnology Co.	P3761	anesthesia
Pet electric clipper	Fenghua Xikou Lubao Knives & Scissors Electrical Appliance Factory		Shave the hair of rats
Self-made rat coat			Fix rats
Tweezers	Qingdao Schultz Biotechnology Co.		Pinch cotton balls