What is Acupuncture
Natural Therapy

Acupuncture (from Lat. acus, "needle" (noun), and pungere, "prick" (verb) or in Standard Mandarin , zhen ) is one of the main branches of Traditional Chinese Medicine (others being herbal medicine and tui na ). It is a therapeutic technique from that framework intended to restore health and well-being. The term acupuncture is often used by Westerners to refer to Chinese medicine generally.

The Acupuncture technique involves the insertion of needles into " acupuncture points " on the body by trained practitioners. The needles most commonly used in present-day practice are made of stainless steel and are of approximately the same diameter as a medium thickness guitar string (from approximately .01" to .02"). Although the clinical efficacy of this practice is debated, the traditional theory underlying its mechanisms has no basis in modern scientific conceptions of physiology and is therefore considered by its critics to be a pseudoscience . While many of its practitioners and proponents promote it in a modern, clinical manner, acupuncture and related practices predate modern concepts of science.

Acupuncture in Modern Medicine

Medical law in the United States regarding acupuncture varies widely from state to state. Notably, states furthest to the west ( Hawaii most particularly, California , etc.) have the most comprehensive and erudite laws and regulations regarding acupuncture. In many U.S. states -- those furthest to the east -- medical doctors (M.D.s) are permitted to practice acupuncture with no specific training in acupuncture. In some states, acupuncturists are required to work with an M.D. in a subservient relationship, even if the M.D. has no training in acupuncture. Contrastingly, Hawaii forbids M.D.s to practice acupuncture unless they have received specific training in it and have demonstrated related competency.

In Australia, the legalities of practicing acupuncture also vary by state. In 2000, an independent government agency was established to oversee the practice of Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture in the state of Victoria. The Chinese Medicine Registration Board of Victoria [3] aims to protect the public, ensuring that only apropriately experienced or qualified practitioners are registered to practice Chinese Medicine. The legislation put in place stipulates that only practitioners who are state registered may use the following titles: Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Registered Acupuncturist, Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioner, Registered Chinese Herbal Medicine Practitioner. The system put in place by the CMRBV has been used as a model in other states of Australia and in other countries, as the worldwide push to adequately and appropriately regulate the profession continues.

The consensus of Western-trained medical doctors and medical-research specialists on therapeutic efficacy is that:

  • acupuncture is at least as effective as a placebo in some situations;
  • As of 2004 , acupuncture is more effective than placebo acupuncture in relieving pain caused by osteoarthritis ; and
  • continued research on the possible value of acupuncture in various areas of medicine is worthwhile.

Warming an acupuncture point, typically by moxibustion (the burning of mugwort ), is a different treatment than acupuncture itself and is often, but not exclusively, used as a supplementing treatment. The Chinese term zhen , commonly used to refer to acupuncture, comes from zhen meaning "needle", and jiu meaning "moxibustion". Moxibustion is still used in the 21 st century to varying degrees among the schools of traditional Chinese medicine. For example, one well known technique is to insert the needle at the desired acupuncture point, attach dried mugwort to the external end of an acupuncture needle, and then ignite the mugwort. The mugwort will then smolder for several minutes (depending on the amount adhered to the needle) and conduct heat through the needle to the tissue surrounding the needle in the patient's body.

Most modern acupuncturists use disposable stainless steel needles of very fine diameter (approximately .015"), sterilized with ethylene oxide or by autoclave . The upper third of these needles is wound with a thicker wire (typically bronze) to stiffen the needle, provide a handle for the acupuncturist to grasp while inserting the needle, and also provide a surface to which dried mugwort will more easily adhere.

Acupuncture Theory

Acupuncture treats the human body as a whole that involves several "systems of function" that are in many cases associated with (but not identified on a one-to-one basis with) physical organs. Some systems of function, such as the "triple heater" ( San Jiao , also called the "triple burner") have no corresponding physical organ.

Disease is understood as a loss of homeostasis among the several systems of function, and treatment of disease is attempted by modifying the activity of one or more systems of function through the activity of needles, pressure, heat, etc. on sensitive parts of the body of small volume traditionally called "acupuncture points" in English, or "xue" (?, cavities) in Chinese.

Treatment of acupuncture points may be performed along the twelve main or eight extra meridians , located throughout the body. Of the eight extra meridians, only two have acupuncture points of their own. The other six meridians are "activated" by using a master and couple point technique which involves needling the acupuncture points located on the twelve main meridians that correspond to the particular extra meridian. Ten of the main meridians are named after organs of the body (Heart, Liver, etc.), and the other two are named after so called body functions (Heart Protector or Pericardium , and San Jiao ). The two most important of the eight "extra" meridians are situated on the midline of the anterior and posterior aspects of the trunk and head. The twelve primary meridians run vertically, bilaterally, and symmetrically and every channel corresponds to and connects internally with one of the twelve Zang Fu ("organs"). This means that there are six yin and six yang channels. There are three yin and three yang channels on each arm, and three yin and three yang on each leg.

The three yin channels of the hand ( Lung , Pericardium , and Heart ) begin on the chest and travel along the inner surface (mostly the anterior portion) of the arm to the hand.

The three yang channels of the hand ( Large intestine , San Jiao , and Small intestine ) begin on the hand and travel along the outer surface (mostly the posterior portion) of the arm to the head.

The three yang channels of the foot ( Stomach , Gallbladder , and Bladder ) begin on the face, in the region of the eye, and travels down the body and along the outer surface (mostly the anterior and lateral portion) of the leg to the foot.

The three yin channels of the foot ( Spleen , Liver , and Kidney ) begin on the foot and travel along the inner surface (mostly posterior and medial portion) of the leg to the chest or flank.

The movement of qi through each of the twelve channels is comprised of an internal and an external pathway. The external pathway is what is normally shown on an acupuncture chart and it is relatively superficial. All the acupuncture points of a channel lie on its external pathway. The internal pathways are the deep course of the channel where it enters the body cavities and related Zang-Fu organs. The superficial pathways of the twelve channels describe three complete circuits of the body.

The distribution of energy through the meridians is said to be as follows: Lung channel of hand taiyin to Large Intestine channel of hand yangming to Stomach channel of foot yangming to Spleen channel of foot taiyin to Heart channel of hand shaoyin to Small Intestine channel of hand taiyang to Bladder channel of foot taiyang to Kidney channel of foot shaoyin to Pericardium channel of hand jueyin to San Jiao channel of hand shaoyang to Gallbladder channel of foot shaoyang to Liver channel of foot jueyin then back to the Lung channel of hand taiyin

Traditional Chinese medical theory holds that acupuncture works by normalizing the balance of qi "vital energy" throughout the body. Pain or illnesses are treated by attempting to remedy local or systemic accumulations or deficiencies of qi. Pain is considered to indicate blockage or stagnation of the flow of qi, and an axiom of the medical literature of acupuncture is "no pain, no blockage; no blockage, no pain".

Many patients claim to experience the sensations of stimulus known in Chinese as "deqi" (?? "obtaining the qi"). This kind of sensation was historically considered to be evidence of effectively locating the desired point. There are some electronic devices now available which will make a noise when what they have been programmed to describe as the "correct" acupuncture point is pressed.

The acupuncturist will decide which points to treat by thoroughly questioning the patient, and utilizing the diagnostic skills of traditional Chinese medicine which include observation of the left and right radial pulses at three levels of imposed pressure and analysis of the tongue coating, color and the absence or presence of teeth marks around the edge.

There are also theories being developed to explain effects observed for acupuncture by within the orthodox Western medical paradigm.

There are various schools of acupuncture theory, including

 
   

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Information from http://en.wikipedia.org