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OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine

(ISSN 2573-4393)

OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine is an international peer-reviewed Open Access journal published quarterly online by LIDSEN Publishing Inc. It covers all evidence-based scientific studies on integrative, alternative and complementary approaches to improving health and wellness.

Topics contain but are not limited to:

  • Acupuncture
  • Acupressure
  • Acupotomy
  • Bioelectromagnetics applications
  • Pharmacological and biological treatments including their efficacy and safety
  • Diet, nutrition and lifestyle changes
  • Herbal medicine
  • Homeopathy
  • Manual healing methods (e.g., massage, physical therapy)
  • Kinesiology
  • Mind/body interventions
  • Preventive medicine
  • Research in integrative medicine
  • Education in integrative medicine
  • Related policies

It publishes a variety of article types: original research, review, communication, opinion, case report, study protocol, comment, conference report, technical note, book review, etc.

There is no restriction on paper length, provided that the text is concise and comprehensive. Authors should present their results in as much detail as possible, as reviewers are encouraged to emphasize scientific rigor and reproducibility. 

Indexing: DOAJ-Directory of Open Access Journals.

Archiving: full-text archived in CLOCKSS.

Rapid publication: manuscripts are undertaken in 6.1 days from acceptance to publication (median values for papers published in this journal in the first half of 2020, 1-2 days of FREE language polishing time is also included in this period). A first decision provided to authors of manuscripts submitted to this journal are approximately 3.5 weeks (median values) after submission.

Current Issue: 2021  Archive: 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

Special Issue

Modernization of Acupuncture Education and Research

Submission Deadline: December 31, 2018 (Closed) Submit Now

Guest Editor

Gerhard Litscher, MSc, PhD, MDsc

Professor and Head of the Research Unit for Complementary and Integrative Laser Medicine, of the Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, and of the TCM Research Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 29, 8036 Graz, Austria

Website | E-Mail

Research Interests: biomedical engineering; neuromonitoring in anesthesia and intensive care medicine; high-tech acupuncture; laserneedle medicine; complementary and integrative laser medicine; evidence-based complementary medicine

About This Topic

Acupuncture, moxibustion and their related fields like acupressure have been used for medical treatment for thousands of years. A large number of empirical data is available but the technical quantification of effects was not possible up to now. Using different kinds of acupuncture stimulation and modern biomedical techniques, it is now possible to quantify changes in biological activities caused by acupuncture.

This special issue focuses on the modernization of acupuncture education worldwide and also on the latest innovative aspects that underline the further enhancement and development of acupuncture. Special emphasis is given to new methodological and technical investigations, e.g. results obtained from all kinds of acupuncture innovations including needle acupuncture.

ICM welcome all papers dealing with the topic. Studies concerning bioengineering assessment of acupuncture based on modern technology are especially welcome.

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System before December 31, 2018.

Planned Papers

Title: Basic Medical Science for Traditional Chinese Medicine, based on BIOCERAMIC Research
Author: Chi Ming Lee, Yuan Chia Chang, Ting Kai Leung*

Title: New Paradigm in International Ear Acupuncture
Author: Dr. István Széchenyi
Affiliation: Director, founder, acupuncturist, Széchenyi Health Center, 1550 Budapest, Hungary

Title: Teaching veterinary acupuncture in the modern age- LU channel as prototype
Author: Bonnie Wright, DVM, DACVAA
Affiliation: Colorado Canine Orthopedics and Rehabilitation- 5528 N Nevada Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USA

Publication

Open Access Technical Note

Efficacy of LED Infrared Warming in the Periphery of the Human Body – First Investigations in a Subject using Thermography

Received: 15 April 2020;  Published: 11 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002030

Abstract

In this technical report, we present for the first time a newly developed multimodal light-emitting diode (LED) pad for photobiomodulation (PBM). In order to demonstrate the range of possibilities for its application, we carried out a comparison of measurements with and without infrared (IR) LEDs in [...]
Open Access Editorial

Can Laser Medicine and Laser Acupuncture be used for COVID-19? Selected Areas of the Current Scientific Literature

Received: 03 May 2020;  Published: 07 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002026

Abstract

The present moment lacks any reliable vaccine or treatment for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the resultant disease COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease-2019). Laser medicine like photobiomodulation (PBM) or photodynamic therapy (PDT), and laser acupuncture may possess some potential to interact and relieve the [...]
Open Access Original Research

Heart Rate Variability during Acupuncture Treatment of Lumbosacral Pain

Received: 12 February 2020;  Published: 20 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2001015

Abstract

Pain could be directly related to autonomous imbalance. To date, only one scientific work examining heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR) as the important parameters of autonomous nervous system (ANS) in the context of clinical routine acupuncture treatments for lumbosacral pa [...]
Open Access Editorial

COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease-19): Traditional Chinese Medicine including Acupuncture for Alleviation – A Report from Wuhan, Hubei Province in China

Received: 25 February 2020;  Published: 26 February 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2001009

Abstract

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used to prevent and alleviate epidemic diseases for hundreds of years. The combination of TCM and Western medicine can effectively reduce fever; alleviate cough, fatigue, diarrhoea and other symptoms of patients with mild COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease-19). [...]
Open Access Editorial

Gender Differences in Manual, Electro, and Laser Acupuncture

Received: 08 January 2020;  Published: 14 January 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2001003

Abstract

Acupuncture, being a unique method, is a millennia-old tradition in the field of Chinese medicine. However, it is surprising that there are very few scientific publications on acupuncture and its gender-specific effects. This article summarizes the previous work from the perspective of both Western [...]
Open Access Case Report

Increase in Electrodermal Activity on Acupuncture Points of Lymphatic, Lung, Nervous, Endocrine and Heart Meridians after Running Exercise, a Single Case Study

Received: 10 December 2018;  Published: 25 March 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1901019

Abstract

Background: Electrodermal measurement of acupuncture points has been correlated to physiologic and pathologic conditions with clinical and laboratory studies. Emerging evidence indicates that in addition to therapeutic effect, acupuncture points may also have diagnostic properties. However, physiolo [...]
Open Access Concept Paper

New Paradigm in International Ear Acupuncture

Received: 16 October 2018;  Published: 26 February 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1901013

Abstract

(1) Background: In the international auriculotherapy practice there are relatively big differences in the exact localization of one and the same ear acupuncture point. On one hand, there are specialists who devote their efforts to find the active points. In that case it becomes intriguing that near [...]
Open Access Editorial

Auricular Medicine

Received: 07 November 2017;  Published: 10 November 2017;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1704004

Abstract

The treatment by auricular therapy has a long history. Ear acupoint research has been advancing step by step worldwide [1-17] . The introduction of lasers into medicine brought besides the already existing stimulation with needles, electricity, pressure and liquids an additional technique to auricul [...]
Open Access Original Research

Modulation of Excitability of Spinal Neural Functions by Acupoint Stimulation Physical Therapy at LU5 (Chize) in Three Hemiplegic Patients with Cerebrovascular Disease

Received: 21 January 2017;  Published: 20 February 2017;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1701001

Abstract

(1) Background: Acupoint stimulation physical therapy (ASPT) is a novel method of physical therapy that combines physical and acupuncture methods. This study aimed to examine the effect of ASPT in three hemiplegic patients with cerebrovascular disease using F-wave as a measure of the excitability of [...]
Open Access Original Research

Modernization of Acupuncture Education in Europe and China: A Report from Austria

Received: 31 May 2019;  Published: 17 August 2016;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1601002

Abstract

The present report deals with some current important aspects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) education and practice in Europe and China. The data and facts are based on a lecture of one of the authors (G.L.) prepared for a conference in Wuhan about acupuncture education in Europe, and lectures [...]
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