The Anti-Inflammatory Actions of Auricular Point Acupressure for Chronic Low Back Pain

Table 2

Descriptive characteristics of participants receiving APA treatment.

Outcomes	Pre-APA						Post-APA
		Mean	SD	Median	Q1	Q3	Mean	SD	Median	Q1	Q3
Proinflammatory cytokines
IL-1	APA	16.17	11.38	12.50	9.00	19.50	14.83	10.00	12.00	8.00	15.00
	Sham	17.70	21.14	11.00	9.00	16.00	17.30	22.25	11.00	9.00	15.00
IL-2	APA	17.73	11.53	13.00	10.00	21.00	16.48	9.99	13.00	10.00	20.00
	Sham	21.29	30.34	11.50	9.50	18.50	20.89	34.39	11.75	8.50	17.00
IL-6	APA	33.28	18.47	26.50	22.00	39.00	31.10	18.09	24.50	20.00	31.00
	Sham	36.48	25.82	28.00	22.00	34.00	35.21	31.80	28.50	20.50	36.00
TNF-	APA	111.68	44.13	101.50	86.50	129.50	114.23	46.60	107.00	86.00	127.00
	Sham	127.41	51.58	122.00	105.75	161.75	121.80	46.43	121.50	93.00	153.50
Anti-inflammatory cytokines
IL-4	APA	19.78	17.86	14.00	12.00	16.00	20.18	19.35	14.00	12.00	17.50
	Sham	16.61	8.96	13.75	11.75	19.25	15.68	8.20	13.00	11.50	17.00
IL-10	APA	29.83	12.73	26.00	23.00	33.00	27.55	9.82	26.00	22.00	29.00
	Sham	32.56	14.77	29.00	24.00	34.00	31.19	13.44	28.00	22.50	32.00
Neuropeptides
CGRP	APA	42.04	53.99	14.34	3.24	59.57	35.85	44.32	9.36	3.77	61.64
	Sham	36.74	31.59	31.10	6.40	65.05	39.43	35.85	30.43	4.34	67.58
-endorphin	APA	138.21	47.95	131.28	107.55	146.74	129.54	42.57	117.40	103.52	135.99
	Sham	121.81	35.29	121.77	104.88	135.86	113.92	23.88	113.52	96.08	135.23
Clinical outcomes
Pain intensity	APA	6.31	1.93	6.00	5.00	7.00	2.66	2.01	2.00	1.00	4.00
	Sham	6.07	1.71	6.00	5.00	7.00	5.28	2.37	5.00	4.00	7.00
Function	APA	7.43	5.61	6.00	3.00	11.00	4.77	5.20	4.00	1.00	5.50
	Sham	9.43	5.02	10.00	6.50	13.00	9.00	5.76	10.00	3.00	14.00

Note. SD: standard deviation; Q: quantile; APA: auricular point acupressure; CGRP: calcitonin gene-related peptide.