How did acupuncture start?

The story was met with widespread disbelief. During a visit to China in 1978, cardiologist Doctor Isadore Rosenfeld witnessed open-heart surgery on a patient, anaesthetised only with acupuncture. A major operation and the patient was awake! Nothing like it had ever been seen before in the west.

But acupuncture is over 5000 years old. There is evidence that it was practiced by the ancient Egyptians. South African tribesmen scratched their bodies to cure disease and the Eskimos used a simple form of acupuncture. In ancient China the Yellow Emperor’s bible on internal medicine talks about the importance of acupuncture for curing disease and restoring health.

Today, in China and Taiwan there are over 232,000 traditional Chinese medical doctors practicing acupuncture. In America there are more than 8000 qualified acupuncturists, 16 acupuncture schools and 2 medical schools teaching acupuncture. As a treatment it’s accepted and practiced worldwide.

What ailments can acupuncture treat?

Many people assume that acupuncture is used as a simple pain control technique. A technique where needles are inserted to interrupt the nerve pathways that send pain messages to the brain. But acupuncture is much more than this. It’s designed to treat any malady and works to balance the energy of your entire body.

Based on clinical experience, it’s known that acupuncture can treat a variety of respiratory, eye and mouth, gastro-intestinal, neurological and muscular disorders. It’s especially effective on headaches, migraine and back pain. Acupuncture is also used to stop smoking, lose weight, lower blood pressure, relive constipation, anxiety, insomnia, allergies, asthma and alleviate skin disorders.

How can it treat all these ailments?

It works by ‘unblocking’ and balancing your energy ‘circuits’. And unlike conventional drugs, there are only beneficial side-effects such as sleeping better, more energy, deeper breathing and many other bonuses.

How does acupuncture work?

Acupuncture means ‘to puncture with a needle’. Fine, flexible needles, about the diameter of a human hair, are inserted into points along the principal meridians of your body. Your body has a network of energy channels or ‘meridians’ in which your ‘ki’ flows. Each meridian is associated with a physiological system and internal organ.

There are 12 principal meridians that run the length of your body and each one has more than 350 acupuncture points. Acupuncture points are specific locations along the meridians. Inserting a needle into a point will ‘unblock’ or stimulate the energy flow through the meridian in a very predictable and measured way.

What happens during a treatment session?

Acupuncture is all part of the philosophy and practice of TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine, which uses an intricate system of pulse and tongue diagnosis. A qualified acupuncturist will also check the ‘palpation’ of the acupuncture points or meridians, your medical history and any other signs or symptoms of disorder.

The treatment is painless and insertion of the needles can feel like an insect bite or tiny prick. If you are sensitive you will feel warmth or energy flow and is often described as a ‘buzz’. Sometimes moxibustion is used to increase the heat effect at the insertion point. A Chinese herb, ‘Moxa’, is placed on the needle and lit. This can stimulate the blood flow as well as the ‘chi’.

Is acupuncture safe?

Nobody can predict the changes that will occur. Your body will do what it needs to do to heal itself. But the healing process starts with skilful diagnosis and the correct stimulation of precise acupuncture points. Acupuncture will often compliment traditional western medicine, and in the hands of a trained and properly qualified acupuncturist, you are perfectly safe. And for many people it is enjoyable too. Although the Chinese may have enjoyed the benefits of acupuncture for many centuries, the legacy of discoveries by men such as Dr Isadore Rosenfeld means we can all benefit from this wonderful treatment.

If you have ever thought about the medicine techniques that are currently being used by doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals throughout the United States then you may have come to the conclusion that the medical field in the United States is the best in the world. On the other hand, you may have come to the conclusion that the United States is lacking something in its medical field that other societies are starting to embrace: acupuncture therapy. Acupuncture therapy has real uses in many societies across the world and there are many reasons why the United States also needs to embrace this change for the future.

Better Treatments

One reason that the United States needs to embrace acupuncture therapy is that there could be the possibility of better treatments for many different illnesses. Not only better treatments, though, are possible, but the possibility of enhanced treatments with the use of acupuncture is there. For example, instead of simply treating chronic illnesses, such as arthritis, with medication, using acupuncture in addition to the medication that is given may also be of a great help to the patients who need it. Consider the fact that the Chinese have used acupuncture in their medicine techniques for thousands of years. When one realizes this then he or she should come to the conclusion that there is always the possibility of better and enhanced treatments with acupuncture.

Outside Influence

The United States makes a great big deal over how they are rarely ever influenced, at least culturally, by any other outside groups. On the other hand, having some influence from other outside groups, such as the Chinese wisdom, may be a good thing for America after all. Choosing to embrace acupuncture therapy is something that should not be treated as taboo, but is something that American researchers need to pour more research and money into. After all, if the United States is able to find out exactly why acupuncture works then there is whole new window of opportunity that has opened up for medical professions in the United States.

More Lives are Saved

Taking the Chinese culture and country as an example, there are thousands of people whose lives are saved on a daily basis because of the acupuncture therapy that is allowed to be practiced in the country. This practice of acupuncture is also widespread, and is something that needs to be done in the United States. Considering how many lives could be saved in the United States should enlighten people on the fact that America does need acupuncture therapy.

All in all, acupuncture could be a great revolution to the United States. However, in order for that to occur the whole society in the United States and medical field needs to be open to great change within the country! As already mentioned, there are plenty of benefits that could be experienced by letting other influences in and acupuncture is just one of those benefits!

Many different illnesses are able to be treated using the procedure of acupuncture and one of those illnesses that is able to be easily treated is Depression. Even though Depression is a mental illness and not a physical ailment, the whole process of acupuncture is able to cure almost any mental disorder that the Chinese used back in ancient civilizations to cure. There is no doubt, also, that ancient Chinese individuals and society did suffer from the horrible affects that some people call Depression. Of course, Depression has lots of other names and there are actually many other mental illnesses that should be able to be treated with acupuncture. Aside from Depression, though, many types of anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, along with a whole plethora of other mental illnesses, need to be treated with this revolutionary medicine that has been available in China for the past thousand of years but has just been introduced to the United States in recent decades.

One important issue, thought, that’s important to note when trying to treat Depression or any other mental illness with acupuncture, is the fact that those who undergo the process should have some remote belief that they will be cured. For example, if a person has claimed that they have literally tried everything to overcome their Depression in their life and they don’t believe anything else will help them then chances are that they won’t benefit very much from acupuncture. On the other hand, there are also plenty of people who would more than likely be ready and willing to put their trust in a medicine form that was their last hope to heal their body and mind.

If one is going to use acupuncture in order to treat Depression, though, another good issue to realize is just how acupuncture works on the body in order to heal the mind from its ailments. After all, Depression is not just simply a physical ailment at times but many times it can take over one’s whole mind. In the acupuncture therapy it is believed that the same positive effects that are felt throughout the body are also felt within the mind. Indeed, though, this mindset has worked for many people when treating their Depression and other mental illnesses. Just because negative feelings are left in the mind doesn’t mean that the needles associated with acupuncture is not able to help them.

Furthermore, there have been plenty of individuals all over the world besides China and the Far East countries that have had success with acupuncture therapy. For starters, many people here in the United States have had success with this age-old technique, however, they may be fearful to speak up just because of what others may think. If you have had acupuncture performed on you, though, then you probably already know the positive effects it can have. If you have been suffering from Depression, though, the best thing to do would be to not only seek out an acupuncture therapist, but to witness to other people about the benefits of acupuncture once it has been established that you have truly been healed!

The “Chi” is what acupuncture is all about. Okay, so there is more to acupuncture therapy than simply muttering the word “Chi,” but the concept of it does have a great deal, if not all to do, with the therapy of the acupuncture way. Ancient Chinese cultures did believe that the “Chi” was found in the body to be the sole energy source in the body, and there were also different energy paths and lines that ran across this “Chi.” Anytime anyone experiences pain it is usually believed that the “Chi” is responsible. By placing plenty of needles along the most precious spots along the paths to the “Chi,” many people in Chinese cultures believe that acupuncture can truly change the body’s perception and response to what is going on inside it and around it.

The Acupuncture Way of Life

One way that acupuncture is supposed to change you, though, if you truly believe in the therapy, is that your whole life will change instantly. Instead of acupuncture being only a form of therapy that you treat yourself to whenever your sick, many people and Chinese professionals in the art and therapy of acupuncture believe that it should truly change your way of life. Instead of looking upon acupuncture as simply a treatment remedy, the whole idea of the therapy should change your life in the way that you go about your job, attend to your family, and even drive down the highway. Just as yoga is meant to teach patience and meditation, so too is acupuncture also believed to instill the practice of relaxation in the body. However, this relaxation technique does need fostering and there are many people who continue to relax themselves everyday, long after they receive acupuncture treatments.

Belief Can Change Everything

There are still others throughout the acupuncture culture who contend that one must actually believe in the therapy for it to start to take effect. Even though this aspect of believing in the art of acupuncture does go along with your way of life, believing in the therapy is certainly the building blocks for letting your trust in the therapy take over. There are many people who already believe ideas about themselves and the world without actually seeing them. Take into consideration that God exists, Heaven and Hell are real, and the Bible or other book of faith is absolute truth. All of these things are rarely able to be seen, but they are still believed. On the other hand, there are still some people who see the positive effects of acupuncture, yet they still do not believe in the therapy. Belief in the system of acupuncture has a great deal to do with whether or not it will work for you!

All in all, though, there are many opponents as well as defenders of the great art and therapy of acupuncture. Many people are on one side of the fence insisting that acupuncture is fake, while those on the opposite side of the fence insist on that the ancient Chinese knew what they were doing when they founded the idea and treatment of acupuncture. In the end, though, it all comes down to personal belief and whether or not one has enough faith in the system to let him or her truly experience the benefit of acupuncture. But while trying to decide whether or not the whole therapy is real, though, just remember that thousands of people have already been cured by the system, and one should try it out before rejecting the whole idea!

Even though there are plenty of ways to treat various ailments in the body, one of the ways that the ancient Chinese believed would benefit everyone is the technique of acupuncture. There are plenty of reasons to believe that acupuncture works, though, and one of the proven ways that acupuncture works is through active pain relief. The reason that the word ‘active’ was put before the phrase ‘pain relief’ is because there are many people who continually experience pain throughout most of their lives. The active pain that they feel within their bodies usually never stops; however painful these bodily ailments can be, though, many people besides the Chinese have found that acupuncture has worked for them. Indeed, acupuncture has been transported to the United States, and it is a very excellent therapy to get involved with.

One of the reasons that people inside the United States and outside feel that acupuncture is a great therapy to deal with pain relief is that there has been so much work done in the Chinese culture as well as in the United States’ culture. For starters, many people with ailing arthritis parts of the body have found that there problems instantly cure and clear up when they have been exposed to acupuncture in one way or another. Furthermore, there are all sorts of people that contend that they ward off chronic pain and any other pain sources they feel through the constant and daily routine and use of acupuncture therapy. Indeed, just as there are massage therapists who can make pain go away through the twisting, pulling, and pushing of the body in its purest form, there are many people that believe that acupuncture has always been the way to cure chronic pain in the body.

Can chronic pain relief be met with the successful treatment of acupuncture, though? Even though there is much evidence that shows that it can be, there are still plenty of people who find that acupuncture therapy just does not work for them. Perhaps an important component of the acupuncture therapy, though, is the belief that this ancient therapy truly does work. This is not to say, however, that the placebo effect is in play in the people who find that acupuncture truly cures their illnesses. On the other hand, ancient Chinese civilizations have always felt that not believing in a certain way of doing something, such as medicine, would indicate that the medicine method would not necessarily be effective for that person.

There have been plenty of studies, however, that show that the Chinese cultures are right in saying that acupuncture does truly work. For starters, the University of Arizona conducted a study just ten years ago that showed how depressed people could get rid of the pain that they felt through using acupuncture therapy. Other than that study, though, there have also been individual and private studies done throughout unofficial research centers that have data to the contrary of anyone who contends that acupuncture is a hoax.

All things considered, though, in order to truly know whether or not acupuncture works for pain relief, though, one must try the therapy for him or herself in order to truly know what works. After all, acupuncture is a physical therapy and the only good way to know is to subject yourself to the treatment first!