Akupunktur und verwandte Verfahren der traditionellen ostasiatischen Medizin arbeiten seit jeher mit leiblichen Empfindungen wie Wärme, Kälte, Strömen oder Druck. Diese Phänomene spielen in der klinischen Praxis eine zentrale Rolle, wurden bislang jedoch kaum systematisch wissenschaftlich untersucht. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, darzustellen, wie im sinosomatics systematisch mit leiblichen Empfindungen gearbeitet wird, und anhand klinischer Beispiele sowie experimenteller Daten zu zeigen, wie solche Prozesse wissenschaftlich untersucht werden können. Nach einer konzeptuellen Einführung in sinosomatics wird eine klinische Fallvignette vorgestellt, in der leibliche Empfindungen mittels Leibzeichnungen dokumentiert wurden. Ergänzend werden Ergebnisse der EmoGRASP-Studie berichtet, in der leibliche Veränderungen bei der Technik In-die-Hände-Legen unter kontrollierten Bedingungen an 30 Proband:innen untersucht wurden. Sowohl in der Fallvignette als auch im Experiment zeigten sich klar unterscheidbare Muster leiblicher Empfindungen. Negative Erinnerungen gingen häufig mit Kälte‑, Schwere- und Entfremdungsempfindungen des Arms einher, während positive Erinnerungen eher Wärme und Leichtigkeit hervorriefen. Darüber hinaus traten bei der Bearbeitung emotionaler Inhalte wiederholt ausgedehnte Strömungs- und Fließempfindungen auf, die sich deutlich von lokal begrenzten Empfindungen unterschieden. Der gespürte Leib bildet im sinosomatics eine eigenständige, therapeutisch wirksame Ebene. Die dort zu beobachtenden Phänomene sind auch unter kontrollierten Bedingungen reproduzierbar.

Attention is typically regarded as a modulatory process that amplifies or suppresses existing sensory input. Here we tested whether inward-directed (somatic) attention can instead generate bodily sensations. In a floatation-based sensory deprivation paradigm (restricted environmental stimulation), 100 healthy adults were assigned to three groups: focused somatic attention with a light tactile anchor on a finger or toe (FSA, n = 50), natural somatic attention (NSA, n = 25), or passive somatic awareness (PSA, n = 25). Participants recorded the quality, intensity, and location of any sensations as digital body drawings, which we analyzed quantitatively and with descriptor clustering and contour-based shape analysis. Focused somatic attention produced more frequent, more complex, and more spatially structured sensations than the natural control conditions, though of lower intensity and smaller extent. Most FSA sensations (77%) were referred to sites remote from the anchor, were predominantly ipsilateral, and fell into distinct descriptor families and two geometric forms—compact patches and elongated, pathway-like trajectories spanning multiple joints. These findings demonstrate that somatic attention is not merely modulatory but generative: directed toward minimal, localized tactile input, it can construct coherent referred bodily experiences at unstimulated sites and organize their spatial structure—consistent with a predictive-coding account in which weak bottom-up input tilts the balance toward top-down prediction.

Introduction: For women who have experienced failed attempts at in vitro fertilization (IVF) and face medical issues, leading to infertility, the renewed effort to seek fertility treatment, coupled with decreasing likelihood of success, can exert substantial emotional and physical strains. Consequently, many couples opt to discontinue treatment before attaining pregnancy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reproductive outcomes in patients with unsuccessful prior IVF attempts who received a complementary treatment designed to alleviate emotional distress and burden. Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis of data from infertile patients who initiated the complementary intervention at a private clinic between January 2014 and December 2016 was conducted. Information on diagnosis, history of infertility, prior assisted reproductive technology treatments, mode of conception, and pregnancy outcomes were retrieved. Results: The data of 133 patients with a history of one or more unsuccessful IVF treatments were analyzed. Patients had an average age of 36.7 years (±4.4 SD) and had been experiencing infertility for an average of 4.6 years (±2.7 SD). The two main causes of their infertility were endometriosis (36.1%, 48 patients) and diminished egg quality (31.6%, 42 patients). By May 2020, a significant proportion of the patients, 81.2% (108 patients), had achieved pregnancy, leading to 94 live births, which represents a 70.7% success rate. These pregnancies mostly resulted from natural cycle IVF (35.1%), donor cycles (23.4%), and conventional IVF (21.3%). The dropout rate was comparatively low at 23.3%. The median time from the start of complementary treatment to delivery was 18 months, with a range of 12–28 months. Conclusions: This study highlights the potential value of complementary treatment approaches in conjunction with standard medical care for women who have experienced unsuccessful IVF treatments in the past and thus face a reduced chance of motherhood. The reported 71% live birth rate is notably high, indicating that the inclusion of complementary treatments may provide women with past IVF failures a tangible opportunity for achieving successful pregnancy and childbirth. However, these findings need to be confirmed through randomized controlled studies.

ObjectiveThis qualitative study aimed to explore patients' experiences with a novel treatment approach for endometriosis-associated pain, termed 'sinosomatics'. Specifically, it sought to understand women's experiences of the treatment and its components, the effects of the treatment on biological, psychological, and social levels, and how the women interpreted the changes they experienced.MethodsWe conducted ten semi-structured interviews with patients, who had undergone the complementary treatment for endometriosis-associated pain. These interview sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using Mayring's content analysis method with the aid of MAXQDA software.ResultsThree key categories emerged: 'treatment experience,' 'treatment effects,' and 'explanation for effects'. The treatment was described as a "turning point" in patients' lives, offering new insights into the involvement of psychosocial factors in endometriosis-associated pain and paving the way for overcoming adverse life events. The therapy strengthened women's empowerment, inspired hope, fostered coping strategies, and promoted personal growth. Both the holistic view of body and mind and the psychological approach to treatment led to a change in the way how women perceived the disease.ConclusionsPatients recognized the innovative combination of psychotherapy and acupuncture point stimulation as a significant advancement in managing their disease. The treatment has helped them to acquire a more holistic understanding of their bodily complaints and to cope more effectively with their symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of a patient-centered and empathetic treatment approach that empowers women to take an active role in managing their condition.

BackgroundGlobally, the demographic shift towards an aging population leads to significant challenges in healthcare systems, specifically due to an increasing incidence of multimorbidity resulting in polypharmacy among the elderly. Simultaneously, sleep disorders are a common complaint for elderly people. A treatment with pharmacological therapies often leads to side effects causing a high potential for dependency. Within this context, there is a high need to explore non-pharmacological therapeutic approaches. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture and music therapy, both individually and combined as a multimodal therapy, in the treatment of sleep disorders in individuals aged 70 years and older.MethodsWe conduct a confirmatory randomized controlled trial using a two-factorial study design. A total of n = 100 elderly people receive evidence-based standard care information for age-related sleep disorders. Beyond that, patients are randomly assigned into four groups of n = 25 each to receive acupuncture, receptive music therapy with a monochord, multimodal therapy with both acupuncture and music therapy, or no further therapy. The study's primary outcome measurement is the improvement in sleep quality as assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (global score), at the end of intervention. Additionally, depression scores (Geriatric Depression Scale), health-related quality of life (Short-Form-Health Survey-12), neurovegetative activity measured via heart rate variability, and safety data are collected as secondary outcomes. Using a mixed-methods approach, a qualitative process evaluation will be conducted to complement the quantitative data.DiscussionThe study is ongoing and the last patient in is expected to be enrolled in April 2024. The results can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for sleep disorders among the elderly, contributing to a more personalized and holistic approach in geriatric healthcare.Trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00031886).

Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, 2 Somatosensory and Autonomic Therapy Research, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany, Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, 4 Acupuncture and Meridian Science Research Center, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea, Department of

ObjectivePosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic life events are often coupled to chronic pain, possibly linked by central sensitization. We wanted to assess the prevalence of traumatic events and PTSD in chronic pain patients of a German university hospital outpatient pain clinic. Moreover, we evaluated the extent of indicators and co-occurring traits of central sensitization in comorbid patients.MethodsWe retrospectively divided 914 chronic pain patients into four groups depending on their trauma severity: no trauma, accidental trauma, interpersonal trauma, and PTSD. We collected electronic pain drawings focusing on pain area and widespreadness, as well as information about pain intensity, sleep impairment, disability, stress, anxiety, depression, and somatization. Differences between groups were calculated using Kruskal-Wallis with post-hoc Mann-Whitney tests.ResultsOf 914 patients, 231 (25%) had no trauma, 210 (23%) had accidental traumas, 283 (31%) had interpersonal traumas, 99 (11%) had PTSD, and 91 (10%) could not be classified. We observed statistically significant differences between groups in pain area and widespreadness, as well as maximal pain, sleep impairment, disability, stress, anxiety, depression, and somatization. The severity of symptoms increased with trauma severity.ConclusionsTraumatic life events and PTSD are frequent in chronic pain patients. The increased pain area and widespreadness, as well as the increased negative impact on co-occurring traits of sensory sensitivity (anxiety, depression, somatization), are compatible with central sensitization in comorbid patients. Therefore, a heightened awareness of the comorbidity between traumatic experiences and chronic pain is recommended.

INTRODUCTION:Inflammation is a mechanism of the immune system that is part of the reaction to pathogens or injury. The central nervous system closely regulates inflammation via neuroendocrine or direct neuroimmune mechanisms, but our current knowledge of the underlying circuitry is limited. Therefore, we aimed to identify hypothalamic centres involved in sensing or modulating inflammation and to study their association with known large-scale brain networks.METHODS:Using high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we recorded brain activity in healthy male subjects undergoing experimental inflammation from intravenous endotoxin. Four fMRI runs covered key phases of the developing inflammation: pre-inflammatory baseline, onset of endotoxemia, onset of pro-inflammatory cytokinemia, and peak of pro-inflammatory cytokinemia. Using masked independent component analysis, we identified functionally homogeneous subregions of the hypothalamus, which were further tested for changes in functional connectivity during inflammation and for temporal correlation with tumour necrosis factor and adrenocorticotropic hormone serum levels. We then studied the connection of these inflammation-associated hypothalamic subregions with known large-scale brain networks.RESULTS:Our results show that there are at least 6 hypothalamic subregions associated with inflammation in humans including the paraventricular nucleus, supraoptic nucleus, dorsomedial hypothalamus, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, lateral hypothalamic area, and supramammillary nucleus. They are functionally embedded in at least 3 different large-scale brain networks, namely a medial frontoparietal network, an occipital-pericentral network, and a midcingulo-insular network.CONCLUSION:Measuring how the hypothalamus detects or modulates systemic inflammation is a first step to understand central nervous immunomodulation.

Background Chest compresses with mustard (MU) or ginger (GI) are a complementary treatment option for respiratory tract infections. However, little is known about their specific thermogenic qualities. This study examines the short-term effects of MU, GI, and chest compresses with warm water only (WA) on measurable and self-perceived body warmth in healthy adults. Methods This was a single-center, randomized controlled trial with cross-over design (WA versus MU versus GI). 18 participants (23.7 ± 3.4 years; 66.7% female) received MU, GI, and WA in a random order on three different days with a mean washout period of 13.9 days. Chest compresses were applied to the thoracic back for a maximum of 20 minutes. The primary outcome measure was skin temperature of the posterior trunk (measured by infrared thermography) immediately following removal of the compresses (t1). Secondary outcome measures included skin temperature of the posterior trunk 10 minutes later (t2) and several parameters of self-perceived warmth at t1 and t2 (assessed with the Herdecke Warmth Perception Questionnaire). Results Skin temperature of the posterior trunk was significantly higher with MU compared to WA and GI at t1 (p < 0.001 for both, primary outcome measure) and t2 (WA versus MU: p=0.04, MU versus GI: p < 0.01). Self-perceived warmth of the posterior trunk was higher with MU and GI compared to WA at t1 (1.40 ≥ d ≥ 1.79) and remained higher with GI at t2 (WA versus GI: d = 0.74). The overall warmth perception increased significantly with GI (d = 0.69), tended to increase with MU (d = 0.54), and did not change with WA (d = 0.36) between t0 and t1. Conclusions Different effects on warmth regulation were observed when ginger and mustard were applied as chest compresses. Both substances induced self-perceived warming of the posterior trunk, but measurable skin temperature increased only with MU. Further research is needed to examine the duration of these thermogenic effects and how chest compresses with ginger or mustard might be incorporated into practice to influence clinical outcomes in respiratory tract infections.

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the effects of acupuncture and medical training therapy alone and in combination with those of usual care on the pain sensation of patients with frequent episodic and chronic tension-type headache. Design This was a prospective single-centre randomised controlled trial with four balanced treatment arms. The allocation was carried out by pre-generated randomisation lists in the ratio 1:1:1:1 with different permutation block sizes. Setting The study was undertaken in the outpatient clinic of Rehabilitation Medicine of the Hannover Medical School. Participants and interventions: Ninety-six adult patients with tension-type headache were included and randomised into usual care (n = 24), acupuncture (n = 24), medical training (n = 24), and combination of acupuncture and medical training (n = 24). One patient was excluded from analysis because of withdrawing her/his consent, leaving 95 patients for intention to treat analysis. Each therapy arm consisted of 6 weeks of treatment with 12 interventions. Follow-up was at 3 and 6 months. Main outcome measures Pain intensity (average, maximum and minimum), frequency of headache, responder rate (50% frequency reduction), duration of headache and use of headache medication. Clinical results: The combination of acupuncture and medical training therapy significantly reduced mean pain intensity compared to usual care (mean = −38%, standard deviation = 25%, p = 0.012). Comparable reductions were observed for maximal pain intensity (−25%, standard deviation = 20%, 0.014) and for minimal pain intensity (−35%, standard deviation = 31%, 0.03). In contrast, neither acupuncture nor medical training therapy differed significantly from usual care. No between-group differences were found in headache frequency, mean duration of headache episodes, and pain medication intake. At 3 months, the majority of all patients showed a reduction of at least 50% in headache frequency. At 6 months, significantly higher responder rates were found in all intervention groups compared to usual care. Conclusions In contrast to monotherapy, only the combination of acupuncture and medical training therapy was significantly superior in reduction of pain intensity compared to usual care. Trial registration: Registered on 11 February 2019. German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00016723.

IMPORTANCE Flotation restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST) is an emerging therapeutic intervention that, to our knowledge, has never been directly compared with an indistinguishable placebo in patients with chronic pain. OBJECTIVE To determine whether 5 flotation-REST sessions alleviate chronic pain. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This single-blind, randomized clinical trial compared flotation-REST as an intervention for the treatment of chronic pain with indistinguishable placebo and wait-list control conditions at Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany. Men and women aged 18 to 75 years who had been diagnosed with chronic pain disorder with psychological and somatic factors (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, German Modification, code F45.41) by physicians at the study center were randomly assigned to 1 of the 3 groups. Data were collected from June 26, 2018, to June 18, 2020. INTERVENTIONS Patients in the intervention and placebo groups underwent 5 treatment sessions lasting 60 to 90 minutes, each session separated by 4 days. The placebo treatment was delivered in the same floating tank but controlled for effortless floating and environmental stimulus restriction. Patients in the wait-list control group did not receive any additional treatment but were asked to continue any ongoing treatments at the time of enrollment. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was a change in pain intensity 1 week after the last treatment session. The assessment was repeated at 12 and 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes included pain-related disability, pain area, pain widespreadness (number of body regions affected by pain), anxiety, depression, and quality of life, as well as several other short-term outcomes. RESULTS A total of 99 patients (mean [SD] age, 51.7 [12.3] years; 80 women [81%]) were included in the study. No differences were found among the groups in the primary outcomes (mean [SD] change in maximum pain: -7.6 [19.7] for the intervention group, -5.8 [12.7] for the placebo group, and 0.4 [14.0] for the wait-list control group; mean [SD] change in mean pain: -2.1 [19.4] for the intervention group, -4.2 [16.2] for the placebo group, and 2.0 [12.6] for the wait-list control group). Long-term secondary outcomes did not show significant differences. In the short term, patients in the intervention group showed significant improvements in pain intensity (-17.0 [17.1]; P < .001), relaxation (23.9 [22.6]; P < .001), anxiety (-10.1 [8.4]; P < .001), pain area (-3.6% [7.4%]; P < .001), and widespreadness (-2.0 [3.0]; P < .001), and similar changes where observed in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Patients with chronic pain experienced no long-term benefits from the 5 flotation-REST interventions. Clinically relevant short-term changes in pain in the placebo group suggest that improvements may not be caused by environmental stimulus restriction or effortless floating as previously thought.

Abstract Pain catastrophizing is prominent in chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia and has been proposed to contribute to the development of pain widespreadness. However, the brain mechanisms responsible for this association are unknown. We hypothesized that increased resting salience network (SLN) connectivity to nodes of the default mode network (DMN), representing previously reported pain-linked cross-network enmeshment, would be associated with increased pain catastrophizing and widespreadness across body sites. We applied functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and digital pain drawings (free-hand drawing over a body outline, analyzed using conventional software for multivoxel fMRI analysis) to investigate precisely quantified measures of pain widespreadness and the associations between pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale), resting brain network connectivity (Dual-regression Independent Component Analysis, 6-minute multiband accelerated fMRI), and pain widespreadness in fibromyalgia patients (N = 79). Fibromyalgia patients reported pain in multiple body areas (most frequently the spinal region, from the lower back to the neck), with moderately high pain widespreadness (mean ± SD: 26.1 ± 24.1% of total body area), and high pain catastrophizing scale scores (27.0 ± 21.9, scale range: 0-52), which were positively correlated (r = 0.26, P = 0.02). A whole-brain regression analysis focused on SLN connectivity indicated that pain widespreadness was also positively associated with SLN connectivity to the posterior cingulate cortex, a key node of the DMN. Moreover, we found that SLN-posterior cingulate cortex connectivity statistically mediated the association between pain catastrophizing and pain widespreadness (P = 0.01). In conclusion, we identified a putative brain mechanism underpinning the association between greater pain catastrophizing and a larger spatial extent of body pain in fibromyalgia, implicating a role for brain SLN-DMN cross-network enmeshment in mediating this association.

Objective: To analyze the thermogenic effects of footbaths with medicinal powders in oncological patients (ON) and healthy controls (HC). Intervention and Outcomes: Thirty-six participants (23 ON, 13 HC; 24 females; 49.9 ± 13.3 years) received 3 footbaths in a random order with cross-over design: warm water only (WA), warm water plus mustard (MU, Sinapis nigra), and warm water plus ginger (GI, Zingiber officinale). Warmth perception of the feet (Herdecke Warmth Perception Questionnaire, HeWEF) at the follow-up (10 minutes after completion of footbaths, t2) was assessed as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures included overall warmth as well as self-reported warmth (HeWEF) and measured skin temperature (high resolution thermography) of the face, hands and feet at baseline (t0), post immersion (t1), and follow-up (t2). Results: With respect to the warmth perception of the feet, GI and MU differed significantly from WA ( P’s < .05) with the highest effect sizes at t1 (WA vs GI, d = 0.92, WA vs MU, d = 0.73). At t2, perceived warmth tended to be higher with GI compared to WA ( d = 0.46). No differences were detected between ON and HC for self-reported warmth. With respect to skin temperatures, face and feet skin temperatures of ON were colder (at t0 and t1, 0.42 ≥ d ≥ 0.68) and tended to have diametrical response patterns than HC (ON vs HC: colder vs warmer after MU). Conclusion: Among adult oncological patients and healthy controls, footbaths with mustard and ginger increased warmth perception of the feet longer than with warm water only. The potential impact of regularly administered thermogenic footbaths over extended periods merits further investigation for the recovery of cancer-related sense of cold.

BackgroundThe differential diagnosis of acute visceral diseases is a challenging clinical problem. Older literature suggests that patients with acute visceral problems show segmental signs such as hyperalgesia, skin resistance, or muscular defense as manifestations of referred visceral pain in somatic or visceral tissues with overlapping segmental innervation. According to these sources, the lateralization and segmental distribution of such signs may be used for differential diagnosis. Segmental signs and symptoms may be accompanied by spontaneous (visceral) pain, which, however, shows a nonsegmental distribution.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the lateralization (ie, localization on one side of the body, in preference to the other) and segmental distribution (ie, surface ratio of the affected segments) of spontaneous pain and (referred) segmental signs in acute visceral diseases using digital pain drawing technology.MethodsWe recruited 208 emergency room patients that were presenting for acute medical problems considered by triage as related to internal organ disease. All patients underwent a structured 10-minute bodily examination to test for various segmental signs and spontaneous visceral pain. They were further asked their segmental symptoms such as nausea, meteorism, and urinary retention. We collected spontaneous pain and segmental signs as digital drawings and segmental symptoms as binary values on a tablet PC. After the final diagnosis, patients were divided into groups according to the organ affected. Using statistical image analysis, we calculated mean distributions of pain and segmental signs for the heart, lungs, stomach, liver/gallbladder, and kidneys/ureters, analyzing the segmental distribution of these signs and the lateralization.ResultsOf the 208 recruited patients, 110 (52.9%) were later diagnosed with a single-organ problem. These recruited patients had a mean age of 57.3 (SD 17.2) years, and 40.9% (85/208) were female. Of these 110 patients, 85 (77.3%) reported spontaneous visceral pain. Of the 110, 81 (73.6%) had at least 1 segmental sign, and the most frequent signs were hyperalgesia (46/81, 57%), and muscle resistance (39/81, 48%). While pain was distributed along the body midline, segmental signs for the heart, stomach, and liver/gallbladder appeared mostly ipsilateral to the affected organ. An unexpectedly high number of patients (37/110, 33.6%) further showed ipsilateral mydriasis.ConclusionsThis study underlines the usefulness of including digitally recorded segmental signs in bodily examinations of patients with acute medical problems.

Hypoxia-sensitive peripheral carotid chemoreceptors, which regulate sympathetic outflow from the brain stem, are promising antihypertensive treatment targets. However, the central nervous pathways integrating human peripheral chemoreflexes are poorly understood. We combined high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging with physiological profiling to elucidate hypothalamic and medullary responses to acute hypoxia. We exposed 12 healthy men (29.7±6.6 years) to 5 hypoxic episodes each by breathing 10% oxygen for 180 seconds followed by 90 seconds of normoxia during high-resolution subcortical functional magnetic resonance imaging. We recorded beat-by-beat finger blood pressure, ECG, and peripheral oxygen saturation (Sp o 2 ). We analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging data through independent component analysis, correlation with systolic blood pressure and Sp o 2 , and functional connectivity analysis by dual regression. On average Sp o 2 decreased by 12±3% ( P <0.01) during hypoxia while heart rate increased by 3±7 bpm ( P <0.01). Systolic blood pressure was unchanged. Brain stem-centered analyses revealed 5 distinct hypoxia-responsive regions around the nucleus of the solitary tract, nucleus ambiguus/intermediate reticular nucleus, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagal nerve, spinal trigeminal nucleus, and inferior olivary nucleus. Hypothalamus-centered analysis revealed 3 such regions around the arcuate nucleus, anterior hypothalamic area/lateral hypothalamic area, and paraventricular nucleus. During hypoxia, these regions showed altered functional connectivity with various medullary and hypothalamic areas. We conclude that high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals subcortical systems engaged by acute hypoxia, which likely correspond to the peripheral chemoreceptor pathway. Our methodology may have utility in studying peripheral chemoreflex contributions to cardiovascular disease and responses to peripheral chemoreceptor modulation. Registration: URL: https://www.drks.de/ . Unique identifier: DRKS00013101.

Objective: Warm footbaths infused with Sinapis nigra (mustard, or MU) or Zingiber officinale (ginger, or GI) are used for various thermoregulatory conditions, but little is known about how they are perceived by individuals, both short- and long-term. We analyzed the immediate and long-term effects of MU and GI on warmth and stimulus perception in healthy adults. Methods: Seventeen individuals (mean age 22.1±2.4 years; 11 female) received three footbaths (mean temperature was 40 ± 0.2°C, administered between 1:30 and 6:30 p.m.) in a randomized order with a crossover design: 1. with warm water only (WA), 2. with warm water and MU, and 3. with warm water and GI. Warmth and stimulus perception at the feet were assessed at the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th minute of the footbaths, in the late evening (EVE), and the following morning (MG). We further assessed well-being (at EVE and MG) and sleep quality (at MG). The primary outcome measure was the warmth perception at the feet at the 10th minute of the footbath. Results: At the 10th minute of the footbath, warmth perception at the feet was significantly higher with MU and GI compared to WA. The immediate thermogenic effects pointed to a quick increase in warmth and stimulus perception with MU, a slower increase with GI, and a gradual decrease with WA. Regarding the long-term effects, warmth and stimulus perception were still higher after GI compared to WA at EVE and MG. No differences were seen for general well-being and sleep quality. Conclusion: Thermogenic substances can significantly alter the dynamics of warmth and stimulus perception when added to footbaths. The different profiles in the application of GI and MU could be relevant for a more differentiated and specific use of both substances in different therapeutic indications.