What is Acupuncture?
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Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical practice that involves inserting thin needles into specific points on the body. It is based on the concept of Qi (pronounced "chee"), which is believed to be the vital energy that flows through the body along specific pathways called meridians. According to traditional Chinese medicine, disruptions or imbalances in the flow of Qi can lead to various health problems.It involves the use of sharp, thin needles that are inserted in the boy
Specific point.This process is believed to adjust alter the body’s energy flow into heal
their patterns, and is used to treat a wide variety.
- It involves the use of sharp, thin needles that are inserted in the boy
Specific point.
This process is believed to adjust alter the body’s energy flow into heal
their patterns, and is used to treat a wide variety.
Purpose
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends acupuncture as an effective treatment for over forty medical problems, including allergies, respiratory conditions, gastrointestinal disorders,gynecological problems, nervous conditions, and disorders of the eyes nose and throat, childhood illnesses, among others illnesses and health conditions. It has also been used to supplement invasive Western treatments like chemotherapy and surgery.
Acupuncture is generally most effective when used as prevention or before a health condition becomes acute, but it has been used to help patients suffering from cancer and AIDS. Acupuncture is limited in treating conditions or traumas that
require surgery or emergency care.
Origins
The original text of Chinese medicine is the Nei Ching, The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, which is estimated to be at least 2,500 years old. Thousands of books since then have been written on the subject of Chinese healing, and its basic philosophies civilizations. Nearly all of the forms of Oriental medicine which are used in the West today, including acupuncture, shiatsu, acupressure massage, and macrobiotics, are part of or have their roots in Chinese medicine. Legend has it that acupuncture developed when early Chinese physicians observed unpredicted effects of puncture wounds in Chinese warriors. The oldest known text on acupuncture, the Systematic Classic of Acupuncture, dates back to 282 A.D. Although acupuncture is its best-known technique, Chinese medicine traditionally utilizes herbal remedies, dietary therapy, lifestyle changes and other means treat patients. In the early 1900s, only a few Western physicians who had visited China were fascinated by acupuncture, but outside of Asian, American communities it remained virtually unknown until the 1970s, when Richard Nixon became the first U.S.
president to visit China. On Nixon's trip, journalists were amazed to observe major operations being performed on patients without the use of anesthetics. Instead, wide awake patients were being operated on with only acupuncture needles inserted into them to control pain. During that time, a famous columnist for the New York Times, James Reston, had to undergo urgery and elected to use acupuncture instead of pain medication, and he wrote some convincing stories on its effectiveness.
