Acupuncture is a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique closely related to Acupressure. It is used to treat ill-health and maintain good health; using fine needles which are inserted into the skin at specific points along pathways of energy called meridians (as in acupressure). The secret is in unblocking any obstruction in the path of the flow of energy in the body – also known as chi or qi. You’ll find that there are 14 meridians on the body and these have 365 points for acupuncture.

The blockage is freed when acupressure or special needles are applied at specific points on the meridian where the “chi” is trapped. It is something like clearing the blocks in the path of the river to allow its free flow again. Acupuncture is also used to regulate the speed of the chi flow to optimum flow levels, when the chi energy flows too fast or too slow.

Acupuncture is a 4000 year old medical discipline, practiced and perfected over thousands of years. Archaeological digs have found acupuncture needles in the 1000 BC Shang Dynasty. Currently, there are three different types of acupuncture and they consist of Western Acupuncture, Five Elements, Traditional Yin/ Yang Theory. Although all three have the same system of points and they use similar methods of diagnosis, each takes a dissimilar approach towards treatment of an illness and its cause. Alternative approaches are taken to arrive at the basic cause and treatment of an illness.

Chinese medicine believes that any form of physical illness is the outcome of stress and anxiety. The five element acupuncture also follows the same belief - the physical well being of a person is dependent on his psychological well being. Following on from this, physical symptoms can only be alleviated when those inner stresses are dealt with. As the emphasis in five elements is on treating the underlying cause of an illness, it can be a slow process reaching full recovery although it is possible. According to the Yin/Yang theory the overall balance of the Yin and Yang has to be maintained for good health. In this type of acupuncture different points are pierced with the needles all along the meridians in order to help cure and affect different illnesses in your body.

Western Acupuncture tends to focus on urgent, short-term treatment, combining Eastern and Western medical techniques. Pertaining to the medical aspect of acupuncture, there are two different sub-categories, which includes acupuncture which is used in dental and surgical procedures. The second sub-category is that first-aid or symptomatic isn’t used for the illness’s diagnosis but in order to assist with the temporary relief of analgesic pain. Reputable medical research has found it to be effective in treating depression, allergies, asthma, arthritis, infertility, gynecological disorders, migraines and high blood pressure. However, like many of the energy medicines, it is most effective for treating either persistent conditions that do not readily respond to conventional medicines, or in dealing with disorders related to a person’s lifestyle.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 7:50 pm and is filed under Health and Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.