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Acupuncture
is one of the oldest forms of healing known to mankind. It
originated in
China nearly
five thousand years ago
. The fact that it is still being practiced after thousand of years,
speaks for the efficacy of this treatment for the laws and
principles it is based. Acupuncture treatment is usually carried out
be inserting very fine needles in specific points in the body.
The needles
vary from half an inch to several inches in length and depth of
insertion together with the way in which they are twirled and
vibrated, effects the treatment. Acupuncture sets out and corrects
any imbalance that is in the body or in the mind and restore harmony
and equilibrium, thus eradicating the causative factors of the
sickness.
The name
Acupuncture is derived from the Latin words i.e. Acus means needles
and punctura - To Penetrate. The discovery of acupuncture is rather
interesting. It was accidentally discovered when a warrior, struck
by an arrow in a battle became aware of numbness, that had nothing
to do with his wound. From this it was summarized that by
penetrating the skin at certain points a number of diseases could
apparently be cured spontaneously. Later on it was discovered that
it was not the size of the wound that mattered, but rather the
precise points where the pin prick should be made to bring the
relief to the sufferer. This led to belief that a needle inserted at
various points on the body when manipulated, could cure disease.
Acupuncture is powerful medicine which aids in strengthening the
immune system and serves to prevent disease and control pain. It
increases both the ability to function and quality of people¡¯s
lives. Acupuncture is well developed whole healthcare system based
on natural energetic laws. Dating back to over 3,000 years as a
primary healthcare system in China, acupuncture is widespread in
Asia, Europe, and now the U.S.
What is
Acupuncture:
The treatment of various disease of the body carried out by
inserting very fine needles into the specific points of the body is
termed as acupuncture. It comprise of two parts : to needle and to
heat. In latin, acus
means needle and pungue
mean pricking. The whole body is endowed with a number of spots, the
acupuncture points. These points, when stimulated either by needles
or by warming, bring about the cure. The source of needle
stimulation is either by needles or by electricity. The heating is
done by burning a kind of herb
Artemisia vulgaris
and the technique is called moxibustion. The two technique needling
and moxibustion can be used separately or in combination.
What is the
function of Acupuncture?
While the effect of acupuncture is symptom relief, it is far more
than this. With its origins in Taoism, acupuncture has served over
the centuries to intercedes and re-attune a person to his source.
Those who receive acupuncture often mot only heal physically, but
experience new and profound states of peace, clarity and harmony
through treatment which often has lasing impact.
How effective is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is highly effective not only as a preventative medicine,
but as a drug free treatment of signs and symptoms.
Studies indicate that acupuncture influences the central and
peripheral nervous system. Evidence shows it release endorphins from
the brain which makes acupuncture particularly effective in pain
control.
Among a host of factors, acupuncture affects sugar, cholesterol, and
triglyceride levels in the blood, the functioning of the
gastrointestinal system and the activity of the endocrine system.
Acupuncture works with the body, strengthening and balancing energy.
It improves circulation and allows the body to heal itself more
quickly and more completely.
Is Western Medicine incorporating Acupuncture into its system?
Western medical doctors have developed great interest in
incorporating acupuncture, part curly as they have noticed its
impact and success-with addictions, AIDS, sports injuries, trauma,
and pain relief.
How does Acupuncture work?
As a system of medicine, it uses natural laws and energetic
principles rooted in Taoism with the application of needles, energy,
and pressure to specific function on the body.
Each point provides a specific function in the body in regulating
the free flow of vital energy for health and wellbeing. Acupuncture
accesses the source of life itself.
The Acupuncturist opens or closes specific ¡°gates¡± or points
grouped along certain lines of energy flow called Meridians, which
go deep into the body. Diseases, for example, is prevented or
treated by stimulating or reducing the flow of vital energy or ¡°Qi¡±
through specific points in the body. Vital energy then is
strengthened or sedated, monitored, and balanced to achieve the
desired result.
Western doctors are discovering medications can suppress or
stimulate electrical impulses within the body but they cannot
regulate it in the way in which acupuncture can.
Oriental Diagnosis and Examination
Trained Oriental Medicine practitioners use a highly developed
system of corollaries to diagnose, treat, and test the immediate
success of treatment.
On your first visit most Acupuncturists will listen carefully to you
in an extensive interview which provides vital clues to and overall
pattern of health or disease. The acupuncturist will feel the subtle
variations in the pulses in the wrist to determine a wealth of
information about how the body is functioning. Sound of voice, the
condition of the tongue, smell, overall appearance of face and skin,
emotions- all are important indicators of your condition. Particular
patterns are discerned to determine which specific points on the
body to use.
The Story of
the Needles :
In the ancient
days when people had no knowledge of metal, the so called needles
were pointed stone, sharp bones, they were termed as 'bain' (sharp)
stones, Shuo Wen
Jie Zi (analytical dictionary of character) of the second century
explained the world 'bain' as a sharp stone used to prick at body
surface in order to cure diseases. These bain stones used to be of
various shapes like a knife, a sword, a needle, etc. In the latter
years such bain stones were replaced by the needles made of bone or
bamboo. In some races(Eskimo, for example) the pointed stones are
still being used to cure the diseases. During the shang Dynasty
(16-11 century) it became possible to manufacture bronz. In the
course of evolution, needles of iron, silver or gold came into use.
Myths and
Legends :How
old and worshipped this art of acupuncture is can imagined from the
findings of a recent excavtion carried out at Liang-Cheng mountain,
Wie-Shan county of Shandong province of china. The four tablets of
Han Dynasty were unearthed on which the carved design of a
supernatural being half-man half-bird holding a large needle trying
to puncture the body of a patient was found. This is an evidence of
the prevailing knowledge of acupuncture in the primitive society.
Another
interesting legend pertains to some warriors, wounded by arrows who
recovered from their chronic illnesses on account of the
acupuncture effects brought about by the arrows. According to the
legends, acupuncture and herbal therapy was started by two ancient
gods of Chinese people . They were known as Huang Di and Shen
Nung(3737-2697 B.C.) the second and third of the three August
emperors, preceded by Fu Hsi, the legendary discoverer of the Pa Kau.
The existence of such legendary gods has not been proved. Shen Nung,
and Hung Di. It appears from the history that Huang Di, the yellow
emperor, stand next to Fu Hsi and Shen Kung as the Father of
Acupuncture
Nei Jing:
It is
said in legend that Huang Di took the throne of China from Shen Nung
in 2697 B.C. He was a man of great wisdom. He formulated the classic
of Chinese medicine and his conclusion and principles of anatomy,
medicine and health were written down in the
Nei Jing , popularly
called the Huang Di Nei Jing Su wen, the yellow emperor's classic of
internal medicine. Chi Po, chief minister and physician, helped him
in accomplishing this task. The book is written in two parts. the
first part, known as Su Wen or simple question, contains the
principles of medicine and the theory of the universe as it relate
to the human health. Acupuncture is described in the second part
known as Ling Shu, or magic gate. This deals with the presentation
and cure of illness and the actual ways an acupuncturist
may adopt to achieve this.
As medical theory,
the description in Nei Jing were far ahead of times. the circulation
of the blood in blood vessels was well-described which was
discovered in the West thousands of years later. Nei Jing was again
complied later by Wang Ping of Tang Dynasty. It has always received
the favor of China's emperors, and long before the Sung version,
about 49 editions of Nei Jing had already came into the medical
field.
Systemetisation:
The
acupuncture points were first systematically described during the
Tisn Dynasty(A.D. 25(-420) and about 349 basic acupuncture points
and about 649 in all were listed on the human body. In the Tang
Dynasty(A.D. 618-907) a strong need was felt to start an acupuncture
centre and a special department was established at the Imperial
medical college of China. During A.D 960-1297 acupuncture was
further systematized and it was not until 1026, that acupuncture
was officially recognised and an official manual was complied in
this regard. It contained the description of 657 total acupuncture
points (including 354 basic points). The human body model made of
bronze for the teaching purpose was also made in the same year.
Pulse
Diagnosis: Huang
Fu-Mi (215-282 A.D.) wrote a book called Chia Ching on moxibustion
and acupuncture. Curiously enough while the teaching of Shun, the
famous contemporary physician, were disregarded, acupuncture
continued to flourish amongst the clinicians. Wang Shu wrote Ne-Jing,
a treatise on pulse diagnosis, at the very and of the Han era. This
book was later translated into Arabic, Persian, Tibten, Japanese and
the art migrated to the
Middle East and
Europe. Two books were published in
Germany in the
Seventeenth Century-one in 1682 at Frankfurt and the other in 1686
at Nuremberg.
Westernisation
of the Chinese Medicine:
During the Ming
Dynasty(1368-1644) China had started using the knowledge of western
medicine while acupuncture, China's own art, was becoming popular in
the Western Europe. During both the ching Dynasty(1644-1911) and the
nationalist China (1911-1949) acupuncture lost favour of the rulers
and it remained suppressed with little or no progress at all. Chinag
Kai-Shek and the Kuomingtang also popularised and favoured western
medicine. The Chinese doctors started studying western medical
theory and technique. Many Chinese doctors who studied the western
medicine, had no real desire to give up their ancient healing art of
acupuncture and moxibustion but they did not want to take the risk
of being labeled as communists and showed no ostensible interest.
Renascence of
Acupuncture:
After the dawn of
the People
Republic
of China in 1949, the development of traditional culture was
associated with patriotism and thus acupuncture also became cynosure
of medical science. More recent development took place in 1958. Many
different methods of treatment were development such as the
needling of hands, nose, ears, face and head, the needling with long
fine needles, hot needles, warm needles and the injection of
distilled water into certain points, an instruction for detecting
the points and a glass figure marked with acupuncture points were
made.
In the same year,
acupuncture anesthesia was first successfully carried out and a few
operation were performed. Of course, this came after a long
experimental period of trail and error. Today acupuncture
anaesthesia is extensively used in many hospital of China.
In 1970, when
China opened her doors to the West again, acupuncture started
achieving new height. An ever increasing number of medical
practitioners in the various countries started studying and
experimenting on the subject seriously. Today many medical
institution have recognised it as a method of thearpy and numerous
achievements have been registered.
The Origin of
Moxibustion:
Moxibustion
originated in northern China. As this region is mountainous and
frequently attacked by piercing cold winds, and surrounded by
scathing, in the primitive races, when people used to warm
themselves with fire, they accidentally discovered that applying heat
or scorching the abdominal region at relieved the symptoms of
abdominal pain, distension and fullness. Based on these observation
hot pressing and moxibustion methods were developed and used for the
treatment of illness and pain.
The Ancient
Philosophy:
The ancient
philosophy theory of the five elements and the concept of Yin and
Yang has been extensively used since the spring and autumn period
(770-467 B.C.) of Chinese history. The theory of meridians and Luo
connection and flow of 'Qi' through them is the nucleus of the
theory of acupuncture. Two types of forces are believed to exist;
life essence and semen. The life essence of latter heaven helps in
the information of life energy which is known as 'Qi' and nourishes
the child after birth. Each and every act of the universe is brought
about by 'Qi' which functions by bi-polarity. The whole universe is
polarised into two opposite forces, positive and negative , and the
system of meridians, pulses, organs, mother and son law, husband
and wife law, day and night law are the examples of this concept.
The whole world is
divided in to five elements - wood, fire, metal and water - which
transform into one another and this process is perpetual.
The Old Indian
Technique:
In India burn
marks of counter-irritation are often found on the bodies of
villagers. Red hot iron rods are put on the body for treating
diseases and surprisingly many of these marks are located on the
classical acupuncture points. Pricking the auricle is also done by
some old styled practitioners for curing asthma. A hole is made and
some ring is worn on that point. This point coincides with the
soothing asthma point of auricular therapy.
Future of
Acupuncture:
In the light of
modern science, the mechanism by which it operates is not properly
understood, although many theories have been enunciated. Scholars
have tried to explain the success of acupuncture on the
neurophysiological basis, hypnosis and the Darwinian theory of
evolution. The outstanding contributions have come from Ronald
Melzack and Anton Jayasuriya who put forward the gate control theory
of pain relief and motor gate theory of late motor recovery. Kirlian
photography too has unveiled new dimension for the research in the
field.
Only future
would be able to tell us what heights this method of curing human
disease will rise to. If safety, inexpensiveness, convenience, ease
of learning and practicing, and a high percentage of success are any
augury, a bright and glorious status awaits this ancient art of
healing
Principle of Yin and Yang
The practice of acupuncture is based on the theory of Yin and
Yang and principle of five elements i.e. water, wood, fire, metal
and earth.
The traditional Chinese medicine states that the vital force or
the so called life - force in the body controls the working of the
main organs and system of the body. This vital force is known as
"T-chi". The belief is that all objects, both animate and inanimate
have a built -in factor of energy. This stabilises the chemical
composition of matter and when this matter is broken down, energy is
released. For example, man is made-up of matter and he also has a
life. This comprises his two sources of energy. One is electrical
energy, created by the biophysical and biochemical changes in his
cells and the life part is given to him at birth.
There is also the belief that there exist in the body, two forces of
energy known as "Yin" and "Yang". Yang is the positive stimulation
force in man and nature. Yin, by contrast is passive and almost
negative in influence. Acupuncture treats the body as a human
circuit and for good health and well being, the "T-chi", or life
force, must circulate through this circuit in a balanced manner and
the equilibrium of "Yin" and "Yang" must also be maintained.
Influence of Taoism It was in the han dynasty that the spread of
taoism throughout china led to systemetisation of acupuncture and
herbal medicine. Taoism taught the theories its peak between the
third and seventh centuries. During this period doctors found
effective cures for serious ailments. The most eminent physician of
the Taoist era was Ko Kung, who was born in Kiangsu Province.
System of Meridians The theory of the traditional Chinese medicine
maintains that inside the body there is a net-work of channels which
connects the internal organs with surface of the body, known as "Ching-Lo"
or meridian.
There are fourteen meridians all over the body. Each meridian has
internal and external pathways; this internal pathway has is origin
in a viscera. It travels inside the body and it is kind to the
external pathway, at the starting of the acupuncture points, and is
then linked to the other internal pathway leading back to the
viscera of origin. This way the whole pathway of meridian is a
closed circuit, which provides the basis of Chinese explanation why
a needle in certain points can sure a disease of the other part.
Along these circuit of energy there are about nine hundred
acupuncture points, each having a special function. Some sedate,
some stimulate and still others will transfer energy from one circuit
to another.
Acupuncture: How it works
Recently acupuncture, the ancient Chinese art of healing has become
popular throughout the world not only as an anaesthetic agent for
operations but in the treatment of many diseases which have shown
resistance to conventional forms of therapy. Acupuncture treatment
has proved remarkably effective. Beside being free from the
side-effects and the ills commonly encountered in drug surely it is
being accepeted into the mainstream of modern medicine.
The logical question at this time is "How does it works?"
This is not an easy question which can be fully answered in our
present state of knowledge. After several decades of dedicated
research we know very little of how the normal nervous system
functions in health let alone in a diseased body. Serious research
on acupuncture commenced only a few years ago, and such a short
period has been insufficient to unravel all the mechanism of the
complicated neuropsychological phenomenon which acupuncture
evidently is. Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that
acupuncture works in a great variety of disorders and its action
must therefore be assumed to vary to some extent with each type of
pathology. Nevertheless, many aspects of its action are now being
understood in the light of a recent research and these are being
placed together in any attempt to solve the enigma.
First of all its necessary to be clear about what really happens
when filiform needle is inserted into an "Acupuncture Points" on the
body surface. The effects. The effects observed are both subjective
and objective. One of the subjective effects, may be slight pain at
the point of needling, but with the use of proper technique by a
trained acupuncturist this is usually negligible. Another important
subjective effect is the appearance of a peculiar sensation which is
called "deqi" in Chinese. There is no exact equivalent for this term
in English but it is usually translated as "take". Deqi is a
combination of slight soreness, heaviness, numbness and distension.
For acupuncture anesthesia to be successful it is an essential that
adequate "deqi" be elicited.
As regards the objective effects produced by needling, six
different effects are recognised.
Analgesic (Pain-killing) effect - This is brought about by a
lowering of the pain threshold. This is the physioological basis of
acupuncture anesthesia and also explains how acupuncture is able to
relieve the pain of arthritis, toothache, headache, low backache and
other painful disorders. Some acupuncture points are more effective
in this respects than others. this is an example of what is called
"the specificity of acupuncture points".
Sedation - Some people may even fall asleep during treatment
but wakeup refreshed. It has been shown that there is a decrease in
delta and theta wave activity on the electro-encephalogram during
acupuncture treatment. These effects are utilised in the acupuncture
treatment of insomnia, anxiety states, addiction, epilepsy and
behavioral problems.
Homeostatic effect - This means adjustment of the internal
environment of the body towards a state of proper balance. Normally,
homeostasis in maintained by a balanced activity of a sympathetic
and parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system and
also by the glandular system. In addition there are numerous
homeostatic mechanism in the body for regulating the respiration,
heart rate, blood pressure, urinary excretion, metabolic rate,
sweating, temperature, ionic balance of the blood and many other
parameters. These mechanism are seriously deranged in many diseases,
and in such cases acupuncture has been found very helpful in
restoring the original state of equilibrium. Very often the same set
of points can be used for treatment for opposite conditions like
high and low blood pressure, or diarrhea and constipation. These are
example of the homeostatic or normalizing action of acupuncture.
Immunity enhancing action of acupuncture - Under this the
body resistance to a disease is strengthened. This has been shown to
be due to an increase in the white corpuscles (leucocytes),
antibodies, gamma globulins and other substances which increase the
powers of resistance of the body. In many cases a two to four fold
increase in antibody of the reticulo-endethelial system. Acupuncture
is therefore vary useful in combating infections.
Motor action - This is meant for motor recovery in patients
who have become paralyzed from some cause or another. Even late
cases of motor paralysis respond well to acupuncture therapy despite
previous failure with other forms of therapy. The explanation which
is complex apparently involves antidromic stimulation of the
anterior horn cells and their reactivation through a biofeedback
mechnism operating through the Renshow and Cajal cells of the spinal
cord of their cranial equivalents (Motor Gate Theory - Jayasuriya
and Fernando, Paper presented at the "World Congress on acupuncture,
Tokyo,1977").
What does traditional Chinese medicine have to say about the
mechanism of acupuncture? the ancient Chinese believed that disease
("Dis-ease") was caused by the imbalance in the body of two
principle, both of which they called Yin and Yang. By "Yin" they
meant the negative or female principle, while "Yang" was the
positive or male principle, both of which are universally present in
all nature. In the healthy state, there was believed to be a
harmonious balance between these opposite but mutually interacting
principles - a state of affairs which today we call "hameostatis".
But when disease supervenes, it is believed that one or other.
Correction of this imbalance in achieved by needling of selected
acupuncture points. While these ideas may look esoteric and
irrational from today's stand points, we must remember that they
were man's first steps in logical thinking. To have formulated these
ideas at the time when the rest of the world was living in caves and
on tops of trees was itself a remarkable achievement which cannot be
denigrated even today. What is known as homeostatic bodily mechanism
has an unmistakable "Yin-Yang" flavour. If a modern physician
accepts this position, there is no contradiction in practising
acupuncture as on one who is familiar with this discipline has any
doubt that is works, and not infrequently when all other modalities
have failed.
Psychological effect -This has a calming and tranquilising action
apart from mere sedation. This is believed to be due to some action
on the mid-brain. Measurable effect have also been reported on the
metabolic chemistry of brain tissue. For instance, there is an
increase in the dopamine content of the brain after acupuncture.
This may account for its effectiveness in certain mental disorders
and in Parkinsonism in which there is a depletion of the dopamine
content of the brain.
Conclusion
For the last few years acupuncture has become the subject of world
wide interest as well as the subject of criticism. A lot of research
has been done on the subject all over the world and the ultimate
results came out with encouraging reports that acupuncture is a
remarkable, science which certainly provides good relief in
ailments, lik poliomylitis, hemiplegia, and other paralytic
conditions, all groups of arthritis, chronic headache of unknown
origin, mental retardation and cerbral palsy, deafness, all sorts of
neuralgias, and many other conditions where modern medical science
has failed to give any positive response.
In recent years acupuncture anesthesia has assumed a valuable role
in modern surgery. In major surgery like heart and brain, the
mortality rate is very high due to the complications of anesthesia.
But after the introduction of acupuncture anesthesia into this
field, such a hazard or death in such surgical cases has been
totally eliminated. A lot of work has been done in the field of
acupuncture analgesia and acupuncture is today in a position to give
relief from pain of any origin. Acupuncture may even reduce pain due
to malignancy, where practically no cure is available in modern
science.
Acupuncture is still in the state of infancy in India. It requires
acceptance by the doctors and patients. The government has also its
role to encourage practitioners of this therapy for further research
and development. Only after that, this science can emerge in actual
existence and could be benificial to the suffering humanity. In this
respect INdia Acupuncture Research and Training Centre recemtly
founded at Raipur is rendering yeomen service to the patients and is
also joining doctors in this science.
In many countries like, Canada, France, U.S.A., U.K., Germany,
Russia, Japan, thousand of medical practitioners are involved in
researches on application of this science. Now it is recognised by
by many Western and Eastern countries whereas in India this science
is yet to be popularized. Our research and studies on the origin of
acupuncture show that acupuncture has originated in India. It was
being practised throughout the country from the time of vedas and
shrutis. This science traveled to South-Eastern Asian countries
like, Burma, Malaya, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ceylon, Korea, China and
Japan with Buddhist monks who were Indian missionaries to these
countries for popularising Buddhism.
Some reflections of the science being of Indian origin can be traced
in different cure methods being practiced by various tribal and
such societies all over India. One such practice is to puncture the
ear lobe for various physical benefits and which is so prevalent all
over the country.
Another practice we generally come across somewhat near to
acupuncture is stamping the patient with hot burning iron rods for
curing certain diseases. This practice is again very much prevalent
in our country which should be considered as a varation of
acupuncture cure looking at the remarkable similarities in the
nature and the results between these |
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