A comparison between acute pressure block of the sciatic nerve and acupressure: methodology, analgesia, and mechanism involved

Danping Luo,^1,2 Xiaolin Wang,¹ Jiman He<sup>1,3

1</sup>Pain Medicine Program, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China; ²The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong College of Pharmacy, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China; ³Department of Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

Abstract: Acupressure is an alternative medicine methodology that originated in ancient China. Treatment effects are achieved by stimulating acupuncture points using acute pressure. Acute pressure block of the sciatic nerve is a newly reported analgesic method based on a current neuroscience concept: stimulation of the peripheral nerves increases the pain threshold. Both methods use pressure as an intervention method. Herein, we compare the methodology and mechanism of these two methods, which exhibit several similarities and differences. Acupressure entails variation in the duration of manipulation, and the analgesic effect achieved can be short- or long-term. The acute effect attained with acupressure presents a scope that is very different from that of the chronic effect attained after long-term treatment. This acute effect appears to have some similarities to that achieved with acute pressure block of the sciatic nerve, both in methodology and mechanism. More evidence is needed to determine whether there is a relationship between the two methods.

Keywords: acupressure, acute pressure block, sciatic nerve, pain