Effect of Ultrasound Therapy at the ST11 on Sympathetic Nervous System Change: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

Objectives This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of ultrasound therapy at the ST11 for regulation of sympathetic hyperactivity. Methods Forty healthy adult subjects were assigned to experimental group and control group. After taking mental stress, ultrasound therapy was applied at the ST11 in experimental group and sham-ultrasound therapy was applied in control group. The evaluation of sympathetic activity was measured by blood pressure, pulse rate, and heart rate variability at 3 times (Time 1: before the stress stimulation, Time 2: after the stress stimulation, Time 3: after the intervention). The primary end point was consisted of normalized (norm) low frequency (LF)/high frequency (HF) ratio, LF (norm), HF (norm). The secondary end point was consisted of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, mean heart rate, standard deviation of NN intervals, root mean square of the successive differences, total power (log). Results After the stress stimulation, all subjects showed sympathetic hyperactivity. After the intervention, the experimental group showed lower sympathetic activity than the control group. Comparing the Time 3 and Time 1, the experimental group showed no significantly differences in sympathetic activity while the control group showed higher sympathetic activity in Time 3 than Time 1. Comparing the Time 3 and Time 2, the experimental group showed lower sympathetic activity in Time 3 than Time 2 while the control group showed higher sympathetic activity in Time 3 than Time 2. Conclusions We suggest that the ultrasound therapy at ST11 can decrease sympathetic activity in sympathetic hyperactivity condition.