Acupuncture

The ancient Chinese Art of Healing.
This has become popular throughout the world,particularly during the past few decades. In many diseases which are resistant to conventional forms of therapy, acupuncture has proved remarkably effective. Besides being free from side-effects commonly encountered in drug therapy, it is simple, safe, effective and economical.

Meridians are the basis of Acupuncture and the foundation of Acupuncture rests upon the relationship that exists between a specific area on the surface of the skin and a specific organ. The treatment uses very fine needles - so fine that most patients don't even feel them being inserted - to stimulate the body's subtle energy (known as qi or chi) at any one of the 360 points situated along the 14 meridians or energy pathways which run through the body. This now brings us to the Yin - Yang balance.

Of all the terms used in acupuncture theory, Yin/Yang has proved the most difficult to express in one simple word or phrase. The theory of Yin/Yang is a kind of world outlook. It holds that all things have two opposite aspects, yin and yang, which are both opposite and at the same time interdependent. This is a universal law of the material world. These two opposites are not stationary but in constant motion. If we imagine the circadian rhythm, night is yin and day is yang; as night (yin) fades it becomes day (yang), and as yang fades it becomes yin. Yin and yang are therefore changing into each other as well as balancing.

PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF ACUPUNCTURE

Acupuncture points are really well known to us in the west, evidence shows that acupuncture points correlate very closely with 'trigger points' and the use of these trigger points is well recognized in Western medicine. These trigger or acupuncture points are frequently on or near nerves. When an acupuncture point is stimulated various neurological and neurohumoral changes occur in the body. Work on small animals also shows that stimulating a specific acupuncture point changes the nerve transmissions in the painful area,the spinal cord and the thalamus (grey matter). Work in China suggests that there is a supra-spinal centre that inhibits viscero-somatic reflexes and that this is stimulated via acupuncture points.

ENDORPHINS - THE OPIUM OF ACUPUNCTURE

The effects observed on needling are both subjective and objective. One of the subjective effects may be slight pain at the site of needling, but with the use of proper technique by a trained acupuncturist, this is usually negligible. Another important subjective effect is the awareness of a peculiar sensation which the Chinese call 'deqi'. The deqi which the patient feels is a combination of numbness, heaviness, slight soreness and distension. For acupuncture analgesia to be successful it is claimed that adequate deqi must be elicited.

Endorphins are naturally occurring morphine - like substances, secreted by the brain and the pituitary gland. All pain input enters the spinal cord, impulses usually travel along small nerve fibres, larger nerve fibres having an inhibitory effect on pain, it is the large nerve fibres that are stimulated by acupuncture. Endorphins closely mimic the actions of opium and heroin in their effects within the brain. Acupuncture increases the endorphin level and therefore blocks pain.

As well as having an analgesic effect acupuncture also has a sedative effect by means of altering brain wave pattern. Acupuncture also has a regulatory and anti-shock effect. Acupuncture affects the immune system; needling certain points increases the white cell count, raises titres (strengths) of all groups of immunoglobulins, increases activity of reticulo-endothelial system and raises the level of serum complement.

In summary, acupuncture can bring about successful change in many acute and chronic conditions, producing analgesia, anti-inflammatory effect and stress reduction.