The acupoint stimulation used in Holloway's study is a modern twist on the ancient procedure. In place of needles, acupoint uses electrodes to send a small electrical pulse to specific acupuncture points on the skin. According to traditional Chinese medicine, these points are connected to internal pathways that conduct energy throughout the body; stimulation of these points is thought to promote a healthy flow of energy.
No one knows for sure how acupuncture works, though a number of recent studies have confirmed that it may ease chronic pain and nausea. Some scientists speculate that acupuncture alters signals among nerve cells or affects the release of various chemicals of the central nervous system.
Acupuncture has long been used in traditional medicine to treat stomach ailments, Holloway said, but until now there had been no evidence that acupoint stimulation affects LES relaxations. Still, the reason for the LES effects is "completely unclear," Holloway said.
Indeed, Holloway and his colleagues had speculated that acupoint stimulation might prevent LES relaxations by affecting the body's release of endorphins or other pain-killing chemicals called enkephalins. But in a second experiment, where volunteers received a medication that blocks these chemicals, acupoint stimulation still reduced LES relaxations.
Holloway described the findings as "very preliminary," in that they showed only that LES relaxations declined during acupoint stimulation. The remaining, and significant questions are whether the effects last once the procedure is over—and whether they will in fact prevent acid reflux.
An important next step, Holloway noted, will be to see whether acupoint stimulation reduced acid reflux after a meal. Despite the early promise, heartburn sufferers should hold off on making that acupuncture appointment just yet, Holloway said.
