There are many different traditional Chinese medicine schools, but all of them are based on the same principles. Acupuncture is a subjective science in that it is, in the deepest sense of the word, an art. Like any other art, its effective expression is dependent upon the cultivation of an inner creative genius ever growing from a firm foundation – the basic principles of this ancient science.

Acupuncture is as much a medical science as it is an art; but it is not the type of science that is simply studied and mechanically applied using, as an example, the same prescription for the common cold for every person with a common cold. Acupuncture can justifiably be called a marriage between science and art in that its time-tested, prescribed therapies, while based on firmly established scientific principles, are not rigidly applied; each can and – in many cases -must be modified in the light of your inner creativity and awareness of the distinctively individual needs of each person.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a therapy used for the prevention of disease or for the maintenance of health. The practice consists of either stimulating or dispersing the flow of energy within the body by the insertion of needles into specific points on the surface of the skin, by applying heat (thermal therapy), by pressing, by massage, or by a combination of these. Acupuncture was developed by the Chinese, and its origins date back almost 6000 years.

Application of Heat Moxibustion (The Burning Of Moxa)

Moxibustion is a thermal therapy in which an herb called moxa (Artemisia vulgaris, Artemisia argyi L’evl et Vant) is placed upon a chosen point on the skin’s surface and ignited; it is left to burn all the way down to the skin, is frequently painful and produces a blister. Some people, however, report that the burning will actually cause a pleasant sensation, in all probability due to the increase of circulation around the point being treated. A very thin slice of ginger placed between the moxa and the skin will diminish the intensity of the pain and also the severity of the blister. Moxa can be purchased in the forms of pyramids (cones), long sticks, and most recently, moxa-rolls.

Acupressing (Yah-Hsueh)

The thumbs and palms are used to apply pressure to specific points on the surface of the skin. Before applying acupressure or massage it is advised that the hands be briskly rubbed together until a definite sensation of warmth is felt in the palms. The pulsating warmth resulting from the friction of rubbing the hands together indicates an increase of energy that should be willfully directed into the acupuncture points in the vicinity of affected areas of the body.

The beneficial effects of laying-on-of-hands, a spiritual healing technique utilized by innumerable religions throughout the ages, are readily explainable in that the energy flowing throughout the body is “reversed” in the hands and fingers, and therefore the hands are saturated with magnetic charges that can be directed into affected body areas by a trained will. Recent Kirlian photography techniques have demonstrated the mind’s ability to affect the energy that emanate from within the body.

Massage (Tui-Nah)

Meridian Digital Pressure is actually the correct name for this form of massage which is very different from occidental massage in that it focuses primarily upon stimulating the flow of basic energy within the body rather than simply relieving muscular tension.

This is basicaly what acupuncturists are tought when graduating an acupuncture school.

Here are some theories that are being studied in all major and well known acupuncture schools of the world. Please take some time and enlighten yourself as you are going to find some really quality information here.

THE INHERENCY THEORY

The human body has a miraculous power to regenerate and repair itself. For instance: scraped skin will grow back in a few days without any conscious effort on the part of an individual; if a morsel of food or some water accidentally goes into the trachea, the person will automatically cough to expel the foreign substance; if a small particle of dirt or dust gets in the eye, tears immediately begin to wash the particle away. These are only a few of the many ways in which the body works to restore the equilibrium once it has been disturbed. Inherent within the life force is the tendency to sustain itself and maintain a perfect balance within the body under all circumstances.

Chinese medicine encourages people to become aware of the miraculous powers inherent within their bodies and to take advantage of these powers before they rely on outside aid. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said that nature is medicine and that medicine is the servant of nature. The people who coined the proverb, “Nature cures the illness, but the doctor gets the fee,” were thinking along the same lines.

Acupuncture is a therapy that has been used by the Chinese people to stimulate or awaken the natural power within the body. In the course of time people have lost confidence in, and even the awareness of, their self-healing powers. As their awareness of their own healing potentials has become dimmed, they have become dependent upon chemical drugs and injections.

THE ENERGY THEORY

According to the Chinese hypothesis, the body is endowed with a definite energy quotient at birth. While this energy is being dissipated through the vicissitudes of daily living, it is simultaneously being replenished by energy obtained from food and air (included within air is the all-pervading electro-magnetic energy). Energy imbalance—either an excess or an insufficiency—is the root of all illness; total absence of energy is death. Energy is believed to circulate throughout the body in well defined cycles; moving in a prescribed sequence from organ to bowel via the meridians, it flows partly at the periphery and partly in the interior of the body. Energy within the body is considered to be a dynamic force in constant flux; this is a leading principle in Chinese medicine, an important hypothesis within the framework of which the empirical theory of acupuncture was developed. The energy theory as being the basis for the effective application of acupuncture is explained in greater detail in Chapter 4.

THE BLOOD THEORY

After conducting an extensive series of experiments in which rats and rabbits were used as subjects, the following phenomenon was revealed:

Vasodilatation. After sedating a rabbit, an incision was made in the abdomen and a portion of the large intestine was firmly fixed under a microscope. Needles were inserted into specific points on the dorsal side of the neck and into the chest. Vasodilation immediately occurred and continued for as long as the needles remained intact. This led to the conclusion that acupuncture could promote an increased blood circulation among the organs, especially those of the digestive system.

Vasoconstriction. A series of experiments were conducted in which rats were used. Needles were inserted into specific points on the back and especially along the spinal column. Vaso-constriction within the brain immediately occurred and continued as long as the needles remained intact. This led to the conclusion that acupuncture could help relieve apoplexy and could also be applied to regulate the blood pressure.

Blood Increase. Regardless of the prevailing state of health, after inserting needles into specific points on the body, blood tests revealed that the white corpuscles and neutrophil juvenile had markedly increased. Coagulase, fibrin, hemolysin and serum also increased. The increase in the percentage of white corpuscles led to the conclusion that acupuncture could enable the body to effectively combat strains of infectious disease that had developed immunity to antibiotics such as penicillin.

THE NERVE THEORY

Thousands of years ago Chinese physicians began to meticulously observe the nervous system within the body. Eventually they discovered that the nerves provided a pathway for nerve impulses generated in response to both internal and external environmental changes. They also discovered that the meridians were pathways that provided for the circulation of energy throughout the body. Later it was found that both systems were interrelated. Figure 6 illustrates the acupuncture points on the posterior side of the body that exist along the spinal column. A needle inserted into these points will affect the corresponding spinal nerve that stems from the spinal column and travels to a visceral organ. Acupuncture is highly recommended as an alternative to any OCD medication treatment out there.

In coping with pain, acupuncture has been utilized in the following ways: First, pain can be alleviated by inserting needles into points that will affect an afferent nerve (a nerve that stems from internal viscera that conveys pain, sensations of hunger, sex, etc.) and block the impulse from reaching the brain. Second, by inserting needles into points that will affect an afferent nerve an impulse can be generated that will preoccupy the nerve center in the brain. The nerve center being preoccupied with the surrogate impulse fails to attend to the original pain that has become secondary and which will eventually subside. The primary purpose of generating a surrogate impulse is to enable the energy within the body to cope with the original pain rather than being dissipated in the anguish resulting from the pain.

These findings are the basis upon which the principles of acupuncture anaesthesia have been developed. At present the use of acupuncture anaesthesia has been confined mainly to Oriental countries, but since Richard Nixon’s trip to China it has also been used in the United States. Its ever-growing popularity is due to the fact that it is highly successful in surgical procedures and has absolutely none of the negative side effects of the orthodox anaesthetics.