Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 1997; 2: 195
After two patients had shown us photocopies of a note published in one of Austrian’s tabloids claiming that Akupunktmassage nach Penzel “cures” asthma, we decided to evaluate the effects of this therapy on pulmonary function tests in a modified double blinded, randomized prospective study.
Only patients with stationary asthma were chosen for the study. After informed consent, 39 patients were randomly assigned to two groups. The verum treatment consisted of transcutaneous stimulation along the course of the meridian(s), according to the actual state of Yin and Yang (22 patients). Placebo treatment consisted of doing the contrary: we increased hyperactivity where there had already been hyperactivity and vice versa (17 patients). As there was no evidence found in literature confirming the effects (or side effects) of Penzel’s therapy, our ethics committee approved the study without restrictions. Therapy was limited to 5 sessions. Before and after each therapy pulmonary function tests were made (17 parameters). In addition, patients had to evaluate the effect on a 10 cm-visual analogue scale.
No differences between the verum and placebo group have been found as far as the pulmonary function test parameters are concerned. In the verum group for example the mean FEV1 was 2.12 before and 2.18 after therapy. In the placebo group the mean FEV1 was 2.10 and 2.12 respectively. In VAS evaluation both the verum and placebo group showed some improvement: the difference was +0.8 cm and +0.5 cm in the verum and placebo group respectively. These differences were significant (p=0.035).
As no significant differences in pulmonary function tests could be shown, the effects of acupoint and meridian massage in asthmatic patients seem to depend mainly on a placebo response as far as the pulmonary function tests are concerned. As patients experienced both the verum and placebo treatment as beneficial, Penzel’s therapy may be an effective but expensive additional treatment in the holistic approach to asthma.
