Acupuncture is one of the main
forms of treatment in traditional Chinese medicine. It involves the
use of sharp, thin needles that are inserted in the body at very specific
points. This process is believed to adjust and alter the body's energy
flow into healthier patterns, and is used to treat a wide variety of
illnesses and health conditions.
Purpose
The World Health Organization
(WHO) recommends acupuncture as an effective treatment for over forty
medical problems, including allergies, respiratory conditions, gastrointestinal
disorders, gynecological problems, nervous conditions, and disorders
of the eyes, nose and throat, and childhood illnesses, among others.
Acupuncture has been used in the treatment of
alcoholism and substance abuse. It is an effective
and low-cost treatment for headaches and chronic
pain, associated with problems like back
injuries and arthritis. It has also been used to supplement invasive
Western treatments like
chemotherapy and surgery. Acupuncture is generally
most effective when used as prevention or before a health condition
becomes acute, but it has been used to help patients suffering from
cancer and AIDS. Acupuncture is limited in
treating conditions or traumas that require surgery or emergency care
(such as for broken bones).
Origin
The original text of Chinese
medicine is the
Nei Ching, The Yellow Emperor's Classic of
Internal Medicine, which is estimated to be at least 2,500 years
old. Thousands of books since then have been written on the subject
of Chinese healing, and its basic philosophies spread long ago to other
Asian civilizations. Nearly all of the forms of Oriental medicine which
are used in the West today, including acupuncture,
shiatsu, acupressure massage, and macrobiotics,
are part of or have their roots in Chinese medicine. Legend has it that
acupuncture developed when early Chinese physicians observed unpredicted
effects of puncture
wounds in Chinese warriors. The oldest known
text on acupuncture, the
Systematic Classic of Acupuncture, dates
back to 282 A.D. Although acupuncture is its best known technique, Chinese
medicine traditionally utilizes herbal remedies, dietary therapy, lifestyle
changes and other means to treat patients.
In the early 1900s, only a few Western physicians who had visited China
were fascinated by acupuncture, but outside of Asian-American communities
it remained virtually unknown until the 1970s, when Richard Nixon became
the first U.S. president to visit China. On Nixon's trip, journalists
were amazed to observe major operations being performed on patients
without the use of anesthetics. Instead, wide-awake patients were being
operated on with only acupuncture needles inserted into them to control
pain. During that time, a famous columnist for the
New York Times,
James Reston, had to undergo surgery and elected to use acupuncture
instead of pain medication, and he wrote some convincing stories on
its effectiveness.
Today, acupuncture is being practiced in all 50 states by over 9,000
practitioners, with over 4,000 MDs including it in their practices.
Acupuncture has shown notable success in treating many conditions, and
over 15 million Americans have used it as a therapy. Acupuncture, however,
remains largely unsupported by the medical establishment. The American
Medical Association has been resistant to researching it, as it is based
on concepts very different from the Western scientific model.
Several forms of acupuncture are being used today all over the
world. Japanese acupuncture uses extremely thin needles and does not
incorporate herbal medicine in its practice. Auricular acupuncture uses
acupuncture points only on the ear, which are believed to stimulate
and balance internal organs.
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other information regarding treatments, please contact
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