Evaluation of chronic head and neck myofascial pain control with Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture in eight weeks follow-up period

This Brazilian study investigated the efficacy of Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture (YNSA) in the treatment of chronic head and neck myofascial pain. Myofascial pain is characterized by taut bands in the muscles with specific painful points, affecting muscles such as the masseter, temporalis, sternocleidomastoid, and trapezius. YNSA is a microsystem technique developed in 1973 that uses specific points on the skull to represent the entire human body. The research was conducted between July and October of 2013 and 2014 at the Brazilian Institute of Therapies and Teaching (IBRATE) in Curitiba.

Twenty female volunteers aged 23 to 46 years participated, all with complaints of pain for more than 3 months and the presence of taut myofascial bands diagnosed clinically. Exclusion criteria included patients receiving other pain treatments, with circulatory disorders, or using analgesic medications in the previous two weeks. The methodology involved 8 weekly sessions in which the LI-4 (Hegu) point on both hands was assessed to determine the more painful side, defining which side of the face would receive the acupuncture needles. 0.25 x 30 mm needles were inserted obliquely at points A and/or B of the YNSA technique and kept in place for 20 minutes.

Pain intensity was measured by the Verbal Numerical Rating Scale (0-10) at the beginning of each session and after application. The results were impressive, showing significant pain reduction from an initial mean of 7.9 to 0.8 after 8 weeks (p < 0.05). All participants (100%) reported immediate pain relief after needle insertion when symptoms were present at the time of consultation. At the end of treatment, 12 volunteers became completely pain-free (intensity zero), 6 had intensity 1 with reduced frequency, one maintained fluctuation ending with intensity 5, and one ended with intensity 2.

The study demonstrated both immediate and lasting effects of the technique. The proposed mechanism of action includes the release of endogenous opioid peptides and activation of the descending inhibitory pain control system, in addition to Melzack's gate control theory. An important observation was the influence of emotional factors on the variability of analgesic results, highlighting the connection between psychological aspects and symptom intensity. The clinical implications are relevant, especially considering that YNSA offers immediate pain relief, which can motivate patients with chronic pain who are often discouraged by previous ineffective treatments.

The technique has the additional advantage of not being applied directly to the painful region. Limitations include the absence of a control group with sham or placebo therapy, which would have prevented blinding of participants. The sample size was also relatively small, and there was loss to follow-up of some participants. Despite these limitations, the results suggest that YNSA may be a valuable therapeutic option for patients with chronic head and neck myofascial pain, offering a minimally invasive, low-cost approach.