Acupuncture – A General Overview

Acupuncture is a 2500 year health modality from China that involves the use of hair-thin needles to specific points in the body to treat disease. When the needles are inserted into certain areas of the body (known as acupoints), the needles are manipulated to influence the flow of Qi (metabolic functions) and blood. Once the flow Qi and blood is manipulated via the insertion of needles, it affects your nervous system to bring relief from pain. It affects the immune system to fight off illness. Your digestion is also effected thus helping you utilize the nutrients your body needs to carry out its day-to-day activities. This form of medicine is not just used in China but all over the world. It is recognized by the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health as a useful modality in treating a wide range of problems from allergies and the common cold to the side-effects of chemotherapy. It is used by many Americans in the treatment of migraine headaches, muscular and skeletal pain, sciatica, psychological diseases, and menstrual irregularities.

The first reason to make acupuncture your choice of treatment is that it uses a holistic view of looking at the body rather than each organ and each disease as a separate entity. When you appear for your first visit, your main complaint is addressed along with your lifestyle, diet, emotional factors, and other signs and symptoms. Even if you have other problems that you think are unrelated to your main complaint, they may likely be a cause or a part of pattern that ultimately relates to the main complaint. For example, if your migraines are not caused by stress or diet, than the root cause could come from menstrual irregularities such as PMS or a previous neck injury due a car accident or sports. Again, instead of treating the symptoms of a particular issue, we look for the root cause to eliminate the problem rather than just masking the issue. Livia Kohn says it best in her book Health and Long Life: The Chinese Way: “…patients seek an integrative approach to health, a methodology that takes their whole being, lifestyle, and social situation into account and that promises long-term relief and a high quality of health.” Acupuncture has proven that it is clinically effective based on scientific and anecdotal evidence. It has been used as a part of China’s training of its athletes back in the summer 2004 Olympics and has been proven to work effectively in alcohol, tobacco, and drug detoxification programs since the late 1970’s at Lincoln Memorial Hospital in New York. Former New York Times correspondent James Reston, had acupuncture treatment for post-operative surgical pain following an appendectomy back in 1971 when he was covering former President Richard Nixon’s visit to China.

Acupuncture also helps you feel better without any side-effects. In today’s healthcare crisis, many of the new medications that have appeared out on the market that have done more harm such as Avandia, Vioxx, Exubera, and others. Even though they are off the market there are many more drugs out there that cause more problems. In the media every time you see an advertisement for new type of medication, you will see at the bottom of the page or your TV screen, “side-effects include nausea, upset stomach, fatigue, drowsiness…,” and the list goes on. These side-effects alone are the number one cause of decreased productivity which leads to missed school and work days.

Lastly, acupuncture has a good cost-to-benefit ratio. Again this brings back to another sector in the current health care crisis which is the rising costs of health care which is leaving so many people in this country unable to afford health insurance. The amount of money spent altogether on health insurance premiums, the doctor’s visits, the co-payments, and the medicines adds up in thousands of dollars. However, acupuncture is an affordable solution to this dilemma since the treatments are economically priced. That alone helps patients save themselves thousands of dollars in the long-term by cutting back on the costs. I have given you many reasons on how acupuncture can help you. It is my honor to present to you the most sophisticated and unrivaled form of medicine to come out of Asia than any other medical system in the world. It is wise venture that meets the demands of the mind and body together.

Benefits of Acupuncture to the Body

Based on traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has been used in different cultures all over the world for thousands of years. Acupuncture is the practice of piercing specific points in the body with fine needles to induce surgical anesthesia, relieve pain and for therapeutic purposes. Despite studies made on acupuncture’s efficacy in treating several medical conditions, acupuncture still remains controversial and an experimental procedure. Its invasive nature makes it difficult to create studies with proper scientific controls. However, acupuncture has been proven by several studies to be effective in treating specific conditions. This type of alternative therapy impacts energy pathways that affect one’s health.

Acupuncture is widely used to treat back pains. People who suffer from chronic back pain report that acupuncture helps them manage the pain and cope with it on a daily basis. Medical scientists are not sure how acupuncture exactly works to treat chronic back pain, but according to some studies, it works like how sham acupuncture (or the use of a toothpick to tap specific points in the body) works.

Other types of pain like migraines, menstrual cramps, headaches and labor pain can also be relieved using acupuncture. This is according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It concluded that this ancient Chinese medicine can effectively treat tension headaches and migraines after reviewing a large body of acupuncture research. According to WHO, respiratory disorders such as allergic rhinitis can also be treated using acupuncture. This type of alternative treatment is said to be more effective than antihistamine drugs and produce fewer side effects. However, acupuncture is still not recommended to replace antibiotic therapy especially in treating symptoms of tonsillitis. Acupuncture has also been found to relieve symptoms of bronchial asthma for short time periods.

Studies also show that acupuncture can treat the aftereffects of stroke. The treatment can also enhance the neurological recovery of a person after a coma or of a person being treated for insomnia. Several mental health practitioners are also turning to acupuncture to treat depression. According to studies, acupuncture trumps psychotherapy in addressing competition stress syndrome. This alternative treatment is also becoming a popular means to get people to stop drinking or smoking excessively.

Acupuncture is also beneficial in treating some digestive disorders. It works better than injections of morphine or anisodamine combined with atropine to treat pain associated with peptic ulcers and other diseases of the stomach. Symptoms related to digestive disorders such as vomiting, nausea, morning sickness and chemotherapy-related illnesses can also be treated by acupuncture.

The Philosophy of Acupuncture Treatment

Thousands of years ago, the Chinese discovered that needles inserted into specific points just below the surface of the skin not only can alleviate pain but also heal many disorders and diseases. That was how acupuncture was discovered in ancient China, and since then it has become a part and parcel of Chinese medicine and Oriental natural healing.

At first, Western medicine was skeptical of the efficacy of acupuncture healing. Nowadays, Western medicine has incorporated some of the principle of this ancient art of natural healing.

Acupuncture is based on an ancient Chinese philosophy – the Tao or Dao (the Way). Basically, this philosophy states that all forms in the universe co-exist in the pairing of opposites: male and female, up and down, cold and hot, the sun and the moon, black and white etc. This duality and mutual interdependence underscore the concept of “yin” and “yang” (the female and the male). The ancient Chinese further divided “yin” and “yang” into the Five Elements, which are essentially the processes of change and transformation within “yin” and “yang.” According to the theory, “yin” and “yang” balance and transform each other to attain harmony, and this process is expressed in the Five Elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth). The Five Elements represent not only the seasonal changes within the year cycle, but also life cycle, such as from childhood to old age. Furthermore, the Five Elements represent different organs within the human body (metal represents the lungs and the colon and large intestines; wood represents the liver and gall bladder; water represents the bladder and kidneys; fire represents the heart and the small intestines; earth represents the stomach and spleen).

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the balance of these organs within the body system holds the key to human health. Acupuncture is based on this philosophy of balance and harmony of the Five Elements to optimize human health.

In Chinese medicine, the human body is seen as a mini-world, or a microcosm of the universe. The human body has a surface (which is the skin) and sub-surface (where the human organs are located). Everything within the human body is connected by nerves, blood vessels, and meridians, which are acupuncture points.

According to Tao or Dao (the Way), man/woman and nature are one. Therefore, human health and wellness are contingent on a state of balance with the natural world we are living in. Any disturbance or disharmony can be caused by external factors, such as the environment, or by internal factors, such as toxic thoughts and inappropriate food. It is this disharmony that causes disorders and diseases when the different human organs cannot balance and adjust to one another within the body.

The objective of acupuncture is to use the needles to restore the balance by adjusting the flow of energy through the meridian pathways. According to Chinese medicine, there is a constant flow of energy (known as “qi”) within the human body, carrying oxygen and nutrients to different organs. Any interruption or stagnation of the flow of “qi” will result in disharmony, and over time, will lead to distress.

Given that acupuncture treatment aims at unblocking the energy flow within the body, acupuncture is a form of not only natural healing but also holistic medicine. It encourages the patient’s own energy to return to balance for ultimate healing.

In Chinese medicine, wellness is more than an absence of disease or symptoms of a disease. Human health derives from balance and harmony of the body, the mind, and the spirit. A healthy body enables you to move about with ease; a healthy mind allows you to think your thoughts easily; and a healthy spirit permits you to relate yourself to whatever you do and think on a personal or emotional level. In short, overall wellness facilitates your appropriate responses to the demands of life.

Acupuncture is an alternative therapy to Western medicine, and it is used specifically in dealing with pain, infertility, weight loss, and even to help you quit smoking.

Children’s Health – Acupuncture For Kids

Two years ago the Children’s Hospital in Boston started a treatment programme for child migraine sufferers. At the end of the programme, of the children who had received acupuncture treatments, 70 per cent of them stated that their migraine intensity levels were reduced.

When parents were asked to confirm, 55 per cent agreed that their children did indeed reap the benefits from acupuncture treatments. Out of all the kids in the study, only one said that their symptoms got worse by undergoing acupuncture.

Another study, also done at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, focused on acupuncture treatment on children between the ages of 6 months to 18 years. These kids were sufferers of headaches, back pain, stomach problems, and other common childhood complaints. At the beginning of the study the patients ranked their pain as an eight upon ten. At the end of the year, the average pain rating plummeted to three. The children were also sleeping better and attending school more often.

Acupuncture, an ancient Chinese practice where very fine needles are inserted into the skin of the patients in order to restore the Qi (energy) and ultimately help to relieve pain and treat diseases, is common amongst Singaporean adults. But is it suitable for children?

Acupuncture and your child

According to Huaxia Acupuncture & Chinese Medical Centre, and 2M Chinese Physican, yes. Both centres say that Acupuncture can be done on children as young as infants, as long as they are able to take the discomfort of the needles. Usually massaging, before injecting the needles, is advised for the younger age group.

Acupuncture can be used to treat childhood illnesses, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), eczema, asthma, depression, and upset stomachs in kids. It can also help with bedwetting. Depending on the condition, the specifics of the treatment (frequency, dosage, strength) needed may vary. Conditions such as simple diarrhea or fever can be treated with one possibly two treatments, while an eating disorder may take up to or more than 10 total sessions. If more than 10 sessions are needed a slight break between sessions will take place, then back to more treatments. Children’s sessions at both centres usually last for between 30-45 minutes.

If you do indeed decide to try acupuncture for your child though keep in mind that you need to go to a licensed acupuncturist. There are requirements and training that will need to be met in order for the acupuncturist to have their license. It also best to consult with your GP or Pead first.

Older posts »