How Acupuncture works
Acupuncture is a work of art, through inserting very small and fine sterile needles into specific sites (acupuncture points) along the body’s meridians.
Meridians refer to the functions of the body. There are 12 regular meridians, each is linked internally with an organ, such as the lung meridian, the heart meridian and so forth. There are also 8 extraordinary meridians, which have a specific function to further connect with the 12 regular meridians. Hence, each meridian is connected through with internal organs, tissues, sense organs and so forth, so the human body is connected into a whole biological system.
Inside the meridians, there is qi and blood - the life forces of the body - running through. The meridian system is therefore a large transportation system responsible for providing nutrients, fluid, qi, and blood to all parts of the body, and it maintains the biological function of the body.
When the qi and blood circulation in a meridian is impaired or blocked, diseases and illnesses appear. In order to remove the blockage or repair the impairment, acupuncture points are stimulated by fine needles to facilitate the self-recovery of the body, and therefore to repair or unblock the meridian, and allow qi and blood to flow freely into all parts of the body.
The practitioner may also stimulate the acupuncture points through methods such as moxibustion, cupping, laser therapy, electro-stimulation and massage, to re-establish the flow of qi.
Does acupuncture hurt?
Since the acupuncture needles are extremely fine, they rarely cause any discomfort and harm. However, when the needles are inserted in the skin, patients can sometimes feel a split-second of stinging. With this said, once the needle is inserted, hardly any sensation is felt, unless the practitioner applies so-called needle stimulation or manipulation technique.
In needle stimulation or manipulation technique, the practitioner can spin, lift, or thrust needles while they remain in the body. This is to create and search for so-called needle sensation, which can include numbness, burning sensation, tingling, or even an electrical-like radiating sensation. This depends on the individual person. Some people can be more aware and more likely to feel the sensation, while others may not feel anything at all. Normally the practitioner explains this to patients before treatment starts.
What can acupuncture help with?
Acupuncture can be used to treat various conditions. Generally the public is very familiar with acupuncture in terms of treating sports injuries, pain control, all sorts of arthritis-triggered joints pain, headache, muscle tension and spasms. It is also very widely used for after surgical care, for example, help to reduce pain and improve mobility after various joints operations.
In recent years, acupuncture has been used to tackle a lot of women’s conditions such as irregular period (both in cycle and flow), female fertility issues (for helping to naturally conceive and IVF), and Menopausal symptoms (hot flush, over perspiration, and irritability for example). It is also used to help prepare for delivery, and care after delivery (for women suffering from insomnia and fatigue, for example).
Stress, anxiety, depression, panic attack, sleeping disorder, and fatigue for example, are another category of illnesses that acupuncture can greatly help, especially for people just starting to experience symptoms, but who have not started to take pharmaceutical medication yet. In most cases, people gain quite good results and return to normal life.
Other commonly encountered health issues that acupuncture can help include skin problems (such as eczema, shingles, acute or chronic hives), facial pain (such as temporal mandibular joint pain, and trigeminal neuralgia), facial paralysis (such as Bell’s palsy), allergic rhinitis (such as hay fever and sinusitis), and dizziness, nausea, balance issues, and more.
Is acupuncture trustworthy?
In Australia, AACMA acupuncture practitioners are qualified primary-contact health care professionals. Most practitioners operate in private practice. However, increasing numbers of them are working from community health centres and hospitals or academic/clinical research.
Qualified practitioners are educated in Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, diagnosis and assessment as well as the Western bio-medical sciences. They are professionally trained in the use of acupuncture to safely and effectively treat a wide range of chronic and acute health conditions.
What is Chinese "acupuncture"?
It is true that the term “acupuncture” is not restricted in Australia, while the term “acupuncturist” is. Hence, Chinese medicine-acupuncture should be provided by a registered Chinese medicine practitioner. In the USA, licencing of health care professions usually includes a legal “Scope of Practice” for that profession, while in Australia, registration only restricts “title” such as Chinese medicine practitioner, acupuncturist, and Chinese herbal medicine practitioner.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is a therapy commonly used in conjunction with acupuncture. It involves the use of dried leaves of mugwort (Artemisia Vulgaris) plant, commonly known as moxa. It is used to stimulate the flow of qi and remove blockages. The slow smouldering nature of this herb, when compressed into cones or sticks, allows it to be placed on or near the skin surface. It is removed when it becomes hot.
History
Acupuncture is an ancient therapy, developed in China thousands of years ago. It was said that acupuncture originated from daily life experience, and dated back even further. The hypothetical theory about how acupuncture came into place is: during the ancient era, when people were living on hunting and collecting wild fruit or berries, or anything edible, people could suffer from various health issues, such as digestive system problems, stomach ache due to uncooked food and indigestion, or pain in joints due to constant hunting and labouring work et cetera. When people were hunting, certain parts of the body could be scratched or hit on the rock, skin might be pierced by thorny plants, fish bones, et cetera. During this era, people came to realise that by piercing or stimulating certain parts of the body, or even certain spots, this helps to alleviate their pain and discomfort. Later on, this form of knowledge got passed around, or passed down by generations.
Eventually, people learned to polish little stones or rock as a tool, to gently hit on certain points to help with pain, indigestion, stomach ache et cetera. Therefore the first acupuncture needle was not really a needle like we see nowadays, it was actually a little polished stone. Later on, as technology developed, people were able to obtain various metal materials, such as copper, iron, gold and silver, and the needles diversified to be various shapes.
The most common type we use nowadays are “filiform” needles. In fact, there are other acupuncture needles such as the lancet shape for various therapeutic purposes. In ancient texts, this is called “Jiu zhen”, meaning nine acupuncture needles.
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