Acupuncture

Acupuncture

What is Acupuncture?


Acupuncture is a treatment that consists of pricking the patient with a special needle. It developed in China about 3,000 years ago. Traditional Chinese acupuncture uses a complicated system of ancient ideas that are not easy for most of us to understand or accept today.

However, many Western practitioners find that acupuncture can be understood in scientific terms. This makes it easier to use in a Western setting and it is increasingly acceptable here. Many hospitals today offer acupuncture to their patients.

How does it work?
We cannot yet explain this in detail, in many cases the acupuncture makes use of 'trigger points'. These are areas, usually muscle, that hurt when pressed and cause pain to radiate to other places that may be some distance away from the trigger point.

Needling the trigger point can relieve pain in these distant areas, although we do not know exactly how this happens. Acupuncture has important effects on the ways in which the nervous system, glandular system and immune system work.

It can therefore be used to treat disorders that are not associated with pain or trigger points, for example asthma, menstrual irregularities or bowel problems. It is important to understand that acupuncture does have measurable effects on the body even though we can't explain them all in detail. You don't have to believe in it for it to work!

Does it hurt?
Its similar to been bitten by a mosquito.

Can it cause any harm?
Acupuncture carries the same risk as any medical procedure involving needles. To put this in perspective, the risk of harm occurring as a result of acupuncture is probably less than the risk of taking aspirin or an anti-inflammatory drug for arthritis. This assumes, of course, that the acupuncture is being performed by someone with an adequate knowledge of anatomy and medicine and is properly trained.

Can acupuncture transmit AIDS or Hepatitis?
No, because all the needles are disposed of after a single use. Therefore there is no possibility that infection could be transmitted.

How soon will I notice an improvement?
Some patients notice partial or even complete relief as soon as the needle is put in but this is exceptional. Others find that improvement takes longer to appear - but usually within 48hrs.

How many treatments will I require?
Most people require a course of treatments rather than just one or two. At first you may be asked to come back weekly for 5 or 6 treatments. As improvement occurs, the intervals between treatments will be made longer. You may find that the effects of treatment vary from time to time.

Will acupuncture cure me completely?
This depends on what you are being treated for. Some illnesses can be cured very quickly, while others cannot be cured, and many can be helped a lot although not completely cured. In such cases you may need to have repeat treatments at intervals, perhaps once every 2 or 3 months.

Cupping

Cupping is a method of applying acupressure by creating a vacuum next to the patient's skin.[citation needed] In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) it involves placing glass, plastic, or bamboo cups on the skin with a vacuum. The therapy is used to relieve what is called "stagnation" in TCM terms, and is used in the treatment of respiratory diseases such as the common cold, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Cupping is also used to treat back, neck, shoulder, and other musculoskeletal pain. Its advocates claim it has other applications as well.

Gua Sha

Gua Sha involves repeated pressured strokes over lubricated skin with a smooth edge. Commonly a ceramic Chinese soup spoon was used, or a well worn coin, even honed animal bones, water buffalo horn, or jade. A simple metal cap with a rounded edge is commonly used.

The smooth edge is placed against the pre-oiled skin surface, pressed down firmly, and then moved down the muscles -- hence the term "tribo-effleurage" (i.e., friction-stroking) -- or along the pathway of the acupuncture meridians, along the surface of the skin, with each stroke being about 4-6 inches long.

This causes extravasation of blood from the peripheral capillaries (petechiae) and may result in subcutaneous blemishing (ecchymosis), which usually takes 2-4 days to fade. Gua Sha rash does not represent capillary rupture as in bruising, as is evidenced by the immediate fading of petechiae to echymosis, and the rapid resolution of sha as compared to bruising.

The color of sha varies according to the severity of the patient's blood stasis -- which may correlate with the nature, severity and type of their disorder - appearing from a dark blue-black to a light pink, but is most often a shade of red. Although the marks on the skin look painful, they are not. Patients typically feel immediate sense of relief and change

In classical Chinese practice, the Gua Sha technique is most commonly used to:

• Reduce fever (the technique was used to treat cholera).
• Treat fatigue caused by exposure to heat (often used to treat heat-stroke) or cold.
• Cough and dyspnea: bronchitis, asthma, emphysema.
• Treat muscle and tendon injuries.
• Push sluggish circulation, fibromyalgia.
• Treat headache.
• Treat sunstrokes / heat syncope and nausea.
• Treat stiffness, pain, immobility.
• Treat digestive disorders.
• Treat urinary, gynaecological disorders.
• To assist with reactions to food poisoning.

Moxibustion

Practitioners use moxa to warm regions and acupuncture points with the intention of stimulating circulation through the points and inducing a smoother flow of blood and qi. Moxibustion to be especially effective in the treatment of chronic problems, "deficient conditions" (weakness), and gerontology.