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Acupuncture is the gentle insertion of hairfine thin needles into specific points on the body to stimulate the flow of ones Qi (pronounced chee) or natural healing energy. Sometimes rather than just inserting acupuncture needles, your doctor may choose to use fine acupuncture tacks to stimulate it over a long period of time or may use heat or mild electrical stimulation. The technique of heat is called moxibustion and the application of local electricity used is called electrostimulation. Acupuncture needles used in the United States are all sterile and generally disposable.  Acupuncture and herbal treatments are drug free and they avoid many of the side effects and dependencies associated with medication. You should always inform your doctor of the medications you are currently taking and whether or not you are or could be pregnant. In addition, if you have a cardiac pacemaker or cosmetic implants. Acupuncture is often used along with other medical care to increase their benefits. It is used for pain control after other medical and dental procedures are performed. It is used for improving health generally as well as promoting healing and the lessening the side effects of many drugs including chemotherapy.
Are there any contraindications for acupuncture? Yes, generally, it is not recommended to provide acupuncture treatment to pregnant woman and patients with cardiac pacemakers.
Does acupuncture hurt?
Can acupuncture be effective when other things have failed? Yes, each system of medicine has its own areas of efficiency and excellence. Acupuncture excels in those areas in which conventional medicine usually comes up short such as chronic diseases, pain control, stress reduction. What conditions can be successfully treated?
The above list is based on the World Health Organiztion, United Nations (1979). General Treatments:
The above is the World Health Organization, WHO provisional list of diseases that lend themselves to acupuncture treatment. Source: Bannerman R H 1979 Acupuncture: the WHO View. World Health, December, p27-28.
What is the difference between Eastern and Western acupuncture? Western medicine looks to identify a disease, looks to identify a pathogen, looks to identify an evil influence that has overtaken the body and controls the body whether it is a germ or bacteria, a biochemical abnormality or a blood clot. A Chinese medical doctor looks at identifying the health and dysfunction and status of Qi, blood, phlegm, moisture. The Eastern medical doctor would examine the patient and make a diagnosis based upon the physical characteristics of the pulse at the radial artery, which identifies the twelve acupuncture meridians, and from the patient's tongue - whether it is coated or not, its shape and movement. Also there is observation of the patient's overall physical stature, face, skin, nails, eyes. So the Eastern medical doctor would diagnose the status of Qi whether it is weak, stagnant, or congested, whether blood or moisture is deficient, stagnant, slack or congested. They would also examine for the five pernicious influences. External influence of heat, cold, dampness, dryness, and wind. Within each discipline, Western and Eastern, there is an enormous amount of time spent on testing and obtaining information that has its own paradigm and usefulness. Many believe that Western medicines greatest strength is in trauma care and therapies for acute problems. While Eastern medicine excels in chronic problems and preventive medicine. Within the paradigm of Eastern medicine is the concept of Qi. In the West, it would be described as bioelectric energy. You can't look at it under a microscope, you can't detect it with any scientific instruments. You cannot isolate it in any form or substrate. Acupuncture seeks to treat health on the level of Qi. There are pathways in the body which Qi flows. These are called meridians or channels and the needles are inserted along the meridians to influence the Qi that flows to various organs. Needles are also inserted in areas where specific pain is associated such as strained muscles. Another Eastern concept is Yin and Yang. Yin is the feminine qualities of the universe and yan is the masculine qualities of the universe. In western medicine, Yin would be anatomy and Yang would be physiology while in Eastern medicine, Yin would be blood and yang would be Qi energy. Western medicine tends to diagnose and treat as the effect of the
disease state it has on the body. While the practitioner of Eastern
medicine diagnosis and acts upon the energy that creates the disease state.
With the advancement of scientific discovery and anatomical dissection and
microscopic evaluation, Western medicine is based upon a philosophy that
all exists in the physical realm as real, that is material. In Eastern
medicine terms that equates to Yin while Eastern medicine acts upon the
Yang of the body or the Chi energy of the body.
What are the traditional definitions of Qi energy? Qi (matter energy)- the vital energy of any living organism and source of all movement and change in the universe. Xue (blood)-Not only the fluid that circulates in the vascular system but also the Qi within that fluid that vitalizes its nourishing function as well as its flow. Qi and Xue have mutual interdependent functions. Jing (essence)-The essential energy of all living organism which is derived both from the energy we inherent from our parents and from the energy we require from our daily lives principally from food and air. Shen (spirit) Non-material, mental, emotional aspect of consciousness that is stored in the heart. The heart here is referring to the Chinese heart which is not the simple organ in the chest but the spiritual aspect of the person. Jin Ye (body fluids) the functional secretions of the body includes
tears, sweat, saliva, milk, mucous, vaginal secretion. Jin are the
lighter purer more Yang fluids which via the lung moisten and nourish the
skin and the muscles. Ye are the denser more yin fluids which are processed
in the spleen and the stomach to moisten and nourish the zang Fu or
internal organs ( bones, brains and orifice such as mucus for secretory
orifices and others).
All five substances are interdependent. However Qi is central to each
of them since it is both the prime activator as well as the recipient of
other functions. The five main functions of Qi are defined as: (1)
impulsing-which is the growth and development of the body (2)
warming-maintaining the appropriate body heat (3) defending the body
against stress and pathogens (4) controlling the blood and bodily fluids
within the body (5) metabolizing Qi, blood and bodily fluids.
Chinese medicine describes invisible Qi circulating along a system of conduits. The principle ones are called meridians or channels as well as being carried along with the blood (xue) This Qi is the vital energy which gives life to all living matter, in a way Qi conduits resemble those of a vascular nervous system. There are twelve principle bilateral channels/meridians of Qi they are connected with one of the visceral of the body and each manifest its own characteristic of Qi. They are: liver, gallbladder, master of heart, triple heater, heart,
small intestine, spleen, stomach, lung, large intestine, kidney, bladder.
Then there is one midline meridian called, ventrally in the front,
conception vessel and one posterior on the midline called governor vessel.
Acupuncture is a method of promoting natural healing and improving function within the body. It is done by inserting needles and applying heat and/or electricity at various precise acupuncture points. Chinese explain acupuncture as Qi or energy traveling through channels in the body surfaces. These channels called meridians are like rivers that run through the body and nourish the tissue. Any obstruction of movement of this energy is like a dam which backs up the flow in one part of the body and restricts the flow in other parts. An obstruction or blockage or deficiencies of energy (Qi), blood and moisture would lead to dysfunction and ultimately disease and death. Meridians can be influenced by acupuncture needling, unblocking the obstruction of the dams within the meridian circulation releasing the regular flow of Qi, blood and fluid, moisture through these meridians. Acupuncture treatments can be helpful for internal organs, connective tissue and promoting digestion absorption and energy production. Modern science explains the function of acupuncture in the following ways. Needling of acupuncture points stimulates the nervous system to release neuroproteins and neuroinformation packets in the muscles, spinal cord and brain particularly the release of endorphin, enkephalins and dynorphins have been identified in the mid-brain. These chemicals modulate the perception of pain and the physiological function of the neural-endocrine-harmonal system. They trigger the release of the body's own internal influences on regulating and harmonizing health. Chinese medicine describes yin as negative and yang as positive. The principle of Chinese medicine is balance and harmony between yin and yang. Yin and yang balance is the healthy state of the body, mind and spirit. In modern science, the cellular health is the movement of electrons. The electrons inside cells act according to their own regular patterns. These bioelectrons are constantly moving towards balance and harmony, postive and negative balance. Energy flow in the meridians is the direct and indirect transportation of bioelectrons. Meridians are the pathways where bioelectrons move more frequently than any other part of the body. When postive and negative charges of the bioelectrical movement are not balanced, yin and yang are imbalanced. This is defined as dysfunction and disease. This beginning stage of pathology start with physiological abnormalities of electron motion. Only radical change in the cellular structure and the cellular electrical magnetic forces is called, in Western medicine, a disease. All external factors such as mechanical, physical, chemical and biological as well as internal factors such as heredity, mentation, constitutional health force the bodies bioelectrical movement turn to imbalance which could lead to dysfunction and disease. Bioelectric magnetic forces resume their normal and regular pattern
with yin and yang balance. The more acupuncture treatment the patient
has, the longer the normal movement pattern of bioelectrons until finally
the electrons inside the cells cannot follow the abnormal pattern anymore.
At this point, the condition in the patient can be deemed balanced and
completely healthy.
Is there needleless acupuncture?
Yes, the most common form of needleless acupuncture is auricular therapy which is manual elecltrical stimulation of
the acupuncture points of the ear. The ear is a micro-system of the entire
body with over 200 acupuncture points available for diagnosis and treatment.
Auricular therapy is an effective way of confirming a western diagnosis using an acupuncture system since it uses an instrument that
measures skin resistance. The same machine can be used to tonify or disperse the excess Qi associated with that point. An acupuncturist may be consulted by people with specific symptoms or conditions, such as pain, anxiety, arthritis, eczema, sports injuries hayfever, asthma, migraine, high blood pressure, menstral disorders, intestinal problems or pregnancy management and delivery. While extensive practice and research has shown that acupuncture is effective in helping people with such conditions as well as with many others, it does more that simply relieve symptoms. The aim of acupuncture is to treat the whole patient and to restore the balance between the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the individual. In traditional acupuncture, since all illness is considered the result of an imbalance of energy, treatment can benefit almost any ill person as long as the degenerative process in the tissues of the body is not too extensive.
Many people also have acupuncture as a preventitive treatment or because they feel unwell in themselves
but are not 'ill' in the Western sense.
What is Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture? A painless, non-surgical method to reduce the signs of the aging process, a rejuvenation and revitalization process designed to help the body look and feel younger. It is based on the principles of Oriental Medicine and involves the insertion of hair-thin needles into particular areas of the face, ear, neck, hands, trunk and legs along channels of energy. Benefits and Results:
Weight Loss Using acupuncture and Chinese herbs to loss weight is a very safe and quite effective method, especially in conjunction of diet and exercise. Acupuncture and herbs can help you lose weight and keep it off. Maintenance of lost weight is a multi-faceted problem. However, using acupuncture weight loss can aid you in your weight loss plans in many ways.
Acupuncture for Infertility Click Here for Acupuncture for Infertility Up to question list |
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