摘要Background:There is a gap in understanding the effects of different acupoints and treatment methods(acupuncture and moxibustion)on microcirculatory changes in the lumbar region.Objective:This study aimed to assess the thermal effects of acupuncture at Weizhong(BL40),with acupuncture at Chize(LU5)and moxibustion at both acupoints as control interventions.Design,setting,participants and interventions:In this randomized controlled trial,140 healthy participants were equally divided into four groups:acupuncture at BL40(Acu-BL40),acupuncture at LU5(Acu-LU5),moxibustion at BL40(Mox-BL40)and moxibustion at LU5(Mox-LU5).Participants underwent a 30-minute session of their assigned treatment.Infrared thermal imaging was used to collect temperature data on the areas of interest for analysis.Main outcome measures:The primary measure was the change in average temperature of the observed area after the intervention.The secondary measures included periodic temperature changes every 5 min and the temperature changes of the Governor Vessel and Bladder Meridian in the observed area after the intervention.Results:Significant interactions were observed between treatments and acupoints affecting temperature(P＜0.001).The Acu-BL40 group showed a notably higher increase in mean temperature after 30 min compared to the Acu-LU5 and Mox-BL40 groups,with increases of 0.29(95％confidence interval[CI]=0.17 to 0.41)and 0.24(95％CI=0.08 to 0.41)℃,respectively.Conclusion:Acupuncture at BL40 acupoint can significantly increase the mean temperature in the observed area,highlighting the specific thermal effect of acupuncture compared to moxibustion in the lumbar area.This suggests a potential therapeutic benefit of acupuncture at BL40 for managing lumbar conditions.