Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been the standard form of medical treatment in China and other Eastern countries for 5000 years. To the Chinese the health of the body depends on the action and interaction of the invisible forces of life, their disharmony is revealed by disease, their disappearance by death.

Acupuncture aims to correct imbalance and is based on the belief that the body contains channels through which energy flows. They are called meridians and should not be confused with the physical nervous system though one affects the other. If the body is healthy the life force moves continuously through the meridians. If there is any bodily malfunction, the flow in the relevant meridian will decrease as though 'blocked', thus disturbing the body's equilibrium and causing illness, not necessarily at the place of the disturbed organ. The acupuncturist's skill lies in his ability to free the meridians for an even passage of energy.

This he does by lightly inserting needles of pure gold, silver or copper in the flesh at specific points along the lines of the meridians. The needles penetrate just below the skin and with a good therapist do not hurt at all.

The needle sets up a current of impulses along the line of the meridian which is picked up by the central nervous system, passed to the lower centres of the brain and passed out again to the stricken area. There are nerves in every part of the body controlling body processes and when stimulated some will increase or decrease the flow of digestive juices, the rate of the heart, contraction of blood vessels, secretion of hormones etc. There is little likelihood of the wrong organ being stimulated, as acupuncture is a self-regulating system and it is rare for the stimulation of an acupuncture point to produce a reaction if it is not needed.

The Chinese claim to have proved the presence of meridians by electronic aids and by a specialised form of photography. Choosing the meridian is traditionally done by following carefully detailed charts and by feeling the pulse in a special way and in specific areas.

Diagnoses are done with three fingers and the body is divided into twelve segments, each of which is checked separately.

The needle is not inserted where the pain is. For general work there are 365 points along the twelve meridian lines and it is up to the practitioner himself to find the exact point - which is only a bit larger than the point of the needle. This is the factor that establishes the calibre of practitioner. Mastering such a technique cannot be learned from books, it is a combination of a sixth sense and years of experience. Some people are more sensitive and receptive than others, and they sense a small nodule of power at the exact point that needs stimulation.

Unfortunately for Western practitioners, most patients only consider acupuncture as a last resort, having found no relief in orthodox methods. But the particular value of acupuncture is in its preventive capacity. In China patients pay their doctor to keep them well and not when they are sick. Regular check-ups make it easier for symptoms and conditions to be detected and corrected before they are allowed to develop seriously.

The pulse diagnoses enable the acupuncturists to track down illness weeks, at times even months, before any physical manifestation appears.

For such preventive measures it is necessary to check pulses every six months. Treatment at an early stage is said to maintain general health at a higher level, giving a positive feeling of well-being and increased physical and mental energy.

A patient with a disease of several years standing needs about seven treatments to be cured or given maximum relief. Acupuncturists report that some notice a response after the first treatment, others feel a difference minutes after the needle has been inserted.

A new development of acupuncture is the way it can be used instead of anaesthetics. Needles are inserted to numb certain areas of the body so that operations can be carried out without pain and without painkilling drugs. It means less shock for the patients. The same method is successfully used in childbirth.

Additional Information [ The Ancient Healing Art of Acupuncture ]