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Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese art of healing that has become an increasingly popular form of therapy.  While modern western medicine deals mainly with chemical changes in disease, the basis for traditional Acupuncture is to correct imbalances of energy or Qi (chee). According to Traditional Chinese Medicine we are all born with a certain amount of vital energy, termed Qi, which we replenish by eating, drinking, and breathing. This energy is considered to be bipolar. For example, if we inhale we eventually exhale, if we eat we eventually excrete. The ancient Chinese believed that disease states were caused by the imbalance of the bipolar/opposing forces known as Yin and Yang. Yin was conceptualized to be negative, female, cold, and passive while Yang was considered to be positive, male, warm, and active.  These descriptions of Yin and Yang should not be interpreted literally. It is more functional to view Yin and Yang as opposite, but intimately interacting principles, both of which are universally present in all nature.  The unending, dynamic balancing of these forces leads to both equilibrium and change.  Since Yin and Yang are constantly altering the relationship they have with each other, one cannot exist without the other.  At any one moment, Yin and Yang are in opposition, and in interdependence.  They demonstrate and explain each other as the long and the short demonstrate each other. Both are necessary for health, and both are necessary to define each other.  In a good state of health, there is a dynamic, harmonious balance between these two opposing forces.  However, when disease supervenes, one of these forces becomes dominant at the expense of the other.  The purpose of acupuncture is to restore balance and increase or decrease Qi by puncturing the correct combination of points.  Put simply, acupuncture induces the body's defensive mechanisms to initially recognize the problem, and then stimulates it to alleviate symptoms.

Sensations Caused by Needling

The therapeutic effects of acupuncture are both subjective and objective. The patient may experience slight pain at the sight of puncture, but this is temporary and often negligible.  Secondly, patients experience an unusual sensation termed "deqi" meaning acupuncture sensation.  This phenomenon consists of a combination of numbness, heaviness, slight dull soreness, and distension or pressure.  The patient may also experience radiation of one or more of these sensations along an acupuncture channel.  Most Acupuncturists refer to this occurrence as the Propagated Sensation along the Channel (the P.S.C.) These sensations are necessary in order to produce the optimal therapeutic effect.

Therapeutic Effects of Acupuncture

Analgesia (pain relieving) - The needling of certain points raises the pain threshold. This is the physiological basis of acupuncture analgesia and how acupuncture analgesia produced during treatment is able to alleviate pain from arthritis, toothache, headache, low back ache, and many other painful problems.

Sedation - Regardless of the pathology being treated, many patients fall asleep during a treatment and wake up feeling refreshed. The sedative properties of certain points however, go beyond making the patient feel tired and sleepy. Not only are these effects used to address insomnia, but they are also used to address anxiety stemming from states such as addictions, epilepsies, mental disorders, and behavioral difficulties. Homeostasis (normalizing influence) - There are numerous documented mechanisms that regulate respiration, temperature, blood pressure, metabolic rate, heart rate, and many other important parameters. The mechanisms responsible for maintaining a normal and balanced internal environment of the body are often derailed in disease states. The needling of homeostatic/regulatory points is effective in restoring the natural and original state of balance. This regulatory effect is also therapeutic in addressing emotional and psychological imbalances and may therefore be utilized in treating problems such as chronic depression. Immune Enhancement and Anti-Inflammation - Points are also utilized to boost or strengthen the body's resistance to disease and inflammation. It has been shown that acupuncture increases the number of leucocytes, antibodies, gamma globulins, and other substances that increase the resistive abilities of the body. Acupuncture is therefore indicated when addressing infections and particularly useful in addressing long term infections where antibiotics have failed. In many cases, concurrent treatments of acupuncture will reduce the need for prolonged antibiotic therapy. Anti-inflammatory points are also used to address conditions such as conjunctivitis, sinusitis, tendonitis, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions. Patients suffering from symptoms associated with allergies and the common cold/flu also find acupuncture very helpful in alleviating symptoms.

Psychological Effect - This refers to the calming/tranquilizing influence that certain points have when addressing the psychogenic factors common in almost all chronic pathologies. For example, some points are used to address the anxiety stemming from a skin disorder or a facial paralysis. These points are also commonly used to alleviate mental/emotional stresses.

Motor Recovery - Another important effect of acupuncture is that it accelerates motor recovery in patients suffering from long term muscular strains or conditions. In addition to needling specific points that address muscles and tendons on a global level, specific "knots" and bands of tension are found and punctured by the Acupuncturist to promote normal neural tone to the affected muscles.

In light of the today's high incidence of drug-induced pathologies, it is no wonder why Acupuncture is gaining more popularity. While speculations, theories, and hypotheses with regards to acupuncture are ever present in today's scientific research, they should not be considered as unchangeable. The scientific basis for the mechanisms of action of acupuncture is slowly being clarified. When considering the efficacy of other therapeutic methods, there is every reason to employ acupuncture in daily medical practices either alone, or to supplement other therapeutic methods. In addition to being free of the side-effects frequently encountered in drug therapy, acupuncture has shown itself to be a simple, safe, and effective form of therapy.

Reference:
American Academy of Medical Acupuncture
Acupuncture Canada
British Medical Acupuncture Society