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What
You Always Wanted to Know About Acupuncture
and Oriental Medicine
• What
is Acupuncture?
• What is Oriental Medicine?
• How does it work?
• How does it do that?
• Can this energy be measured?
• How do you know where to put the needles?
• Why is balance so important?
• What does Western medicine think of acupuncture?
• Herbology and Oriental Medicine
• What conditions does acupuncture treat?
• How do I choose a licensed acupuncture physician? |
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What
Is Acupuncture? |
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Acupuncture
has become very popular over the past few years. What most need
to understand is that it is actually only one form of treatment
utilized in the ancient medical practice of Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM.) TCM is the fundamental cornerstone and basis
for the practice of Oriental Medicine, which includes Acupuncture,
Chinese herbology and Tui-Na (Chinese massage and bodywork).
This full system of medicine, along with its ancient diagnostic
techniques, has an impressive history that dates back over 2500
years. Oriental medicine balances energy levels in the body the
same way Western medicine balances chemistry levels in the body.
Both eastern and western medicine agree that balance, or homeostasis
is necessary for optimal health. Acupuncture uses fine needles
that act like antenna to directly manipulate the body's energy
levels. Inserted properly, they act like a switch that reprograms
the body to a healthier state.
It
comes as no surprise that the use of Acupuncture and Chinese
herbs have gained such an enormous amount of media exposure
over the past few years. The NIH , WHO and FDA have all given their
stamp of approval on various aspects of the ancient practice
of acupuncture. Life magazine featured two cover stories "The Healing Revolution" and "The Healing Power
of Touch" within a twelve-month period of time. Time magazine,
U.S. News and World Report, Newsweek as well as the NY Times,
Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal have all featured
articles about America's fascination and trend towards embracing
this ancient medical art. |
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What
is Oriental Medicine? |
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Acupuncture
is only one of many treatment modalities utilized by Oriental
Medicine. The term Oriental Medicine (OM) includes the various
styles that developed as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) spread
from China to many different countries such as Korea, Japan and
then into Europe. Currently, American practitioners are developing
an American style of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
What
makes this medical art so different and unique is the use
of ancient diagnostic techniques that evaluate a patient's individual
condition. Each person is evaluated and diagnosed to determine
his/her imbalance. This means that two patients with the
same named Western disease can have a completely different diagnosis
according to Oriental Medicine and therefore will be treated
differently. Understanding the diagnostics is vital to achieve
the best results. Once the patient is properly diagnosed,
a treatment protocol can then be outlined using acupuncture,
herbal prescriptions as well as other various modalities
as indicated by that condition.
Acupuncture
is the ancient Eastern science and art of directly balancing
and manipulating your energy levels to bring them into balance.
In Chinese this energy is called "Qi" pronounced "chee" and
is the "life force" of the body. It is fundamental to both
Eastern and Western medical science that optimum health is
achieved through homeostasis, the optimum balance of the
bodies systems. Acupuncture acts directly on your energy
levels (Qi) to bring them into balance, thereby promoting
optimum health. |
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How
does it work? |
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Energy
fields surround the human body. In western medicine, the grossest
of these are measured with devices like EKG (Electrocardiogram
- a device to test the heart used by cardiologists), EEG (Electroenceyphlagrah
- a device used by neurologists to test the brain), EMG (Electromyograph,
used to test the muscles and nerves) and many other devices.
Science has long known that changes in body function can be evaluated
by measuring changes in these energy fields. It is known that
these fields change with the function and it has been demonstrated
that function changes when these fields are directly manipulated.
Acupuncture works by directly effecting the body's energy fields
and thereby changing the function of the related systems. |
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How
does it do that? |
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Tiny,
sterile needles (about the size of a strand of hair) are inserted
into the skin at very special points. These needles focus the
energy of the body's energy fields the same way an antenna focuses
radio energy. The needles are placed at the points that will
balance the energies that will restore homeostasis to the body.
It is important that the needles be placed in exactly the right
place, since the location of the needles will determine how the
energy field is changed. These special points occur where the
energy fields of the body interact. Each system and organ will
manifest it's own energy level and can be weakened or strengthened
by the energy fields around it. Acupuncture focuses these fields
to bring them and the underlying body systems into balance. |
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Can
this energy be measured? |
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Not
with today's technology. There is no doubt that the body is surrounded
with energy fields. It is a basic law of physics that when electricity
flows along a conductor it creates an energy field. This is why
electric generators work. We also know that a field will effect
other fields - this is why electric motors and radios work. We
can measure the stronger fields created by the brain and large
nerves with devices like the EEG, EMG and EKG, but these are
the exception rather than the rule. The problem is that the fields
manipulated by acupuncture are too small to measure with today's
technology. (Today's environment also makes measuring these fields
very difficult. You are subjected to millions times more electromagnetic
radiation than your parents and billions of times more than your
grandparents.) |
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How
do you know where to put the needles? |
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An
understanding of how this energy flows and interacts predicts
which points will create the desired effect. It is therefore
necessary for a practitioner to have a complete understanding
of the over 3000 years of research and experimentation that have
gone into the development of this system of medicine. In that
much time, researchers and practitioners have isolated and identified
these fields and their interactions with the biochemical systems
of the body through trial and error and observation. Over thousands
of years, we have learned how to affect this energy to restore
balance |
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Why
is balance so important? |
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Life
is based on balance. Rest and exercise, work and play, give and
take, sugar and protein are all examples of things we know should
be balanced. We know that blood chemistry should balance in a
certain manner. When you are tense, upset, ill or injured, some
system in your body is out of balance. Western medicine directly
balances the chemistry in the body. In the case of a disease "caused" by
germs, Western medicine often seeks to restore the balance by
directly attacking the offending organism with some drug that
is poison to the "germ". However, people exposed to germs don't
always get a disease. This is because they do not have an imbalance
that has already weakened the body's immune system. Oriental
medicine directly balances the energy fields in the body, allowing
the body's systems to balance and heal. Most diseases of which
you are aware create symptoms by creating an imbalance of some
form. Acupuncture restores the balance, thereby eliminating the
symptoms and strengthening the body's own systems to cure the
problem. |
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What
does Western medicine think of acupuncture? |
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In
the 1950's and 60's Western medicine considered anything not
taught in American medical schools to be quackery or ignorant practices.
In the 70's and 80's this viewpoint began to change as "miracle
drugs" were discovered in ancient herbal remedies. Even the much-ridiculed
practice of allowing leaches to suck the blood of an ill patient
was vindicated to some degree when a powerful antibiotic was
discovered in leach saliva. (This is still not a common procedure
for obvious reasons.) In the 90's, Western science has embraced
Oriental medicine as a complement to Western medicine and reams
of research have been published on the effective use of acupuncture
for conditions ranging from post surgical trauma to PMS symptoms
to addiction, stress, muscular-skeletal pain and even the common
cold. Many hospitals now have Acupuncture Practitioners on staff
and the National Institutes of Health just released the results
of a consensus conference recommending acupuncture be covered
by federal health programs.
SEE: NIH
STATEMENT ON ACUPUNCTURE |
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Herbology
and Oriental Medicine |
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There
is a general public opinion that just because something is natural,
it is safe. This is not true about Chinese herbology. The practice
of Chinese herbology uses both single herbs as well as herbal
formulas containing several herbs. Ancient texts document various
herbal formulas that can be used to treat various conditions. When
herbs are combined there is a synergistic effect and this results
in precise effective treatment. TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)
developed the practice of herbology to coincide with treating
the energy (Qi) imbalance in the body. Ancient texts categorize
the herbs according its properties, channel entered, organs affected,
taste, temperature, toxicity and disease or symptom. A disease
can only be treated after the imbalance in the energy levels
(Qi) of the body has been identified.
The
oldest known significant Chinese medical text "Yellow Emperor's
Inner Classic" (Huang Di Nei Jing) was compiled between 200
B.C. and 100 B.C. This ancient text outlines the theoretical
and philosophical foundation of TCM. With an understanding
of this foundation, a practitioner can diagnose the imbalance
and then incorporate herbs and acupuncture into a treatment
protocol.
A disease
classified by Western medicine, like sinusitis, can actually
be broken down into many different types or imbalances
according to TCM. This is probably why some people respond to certain
drugs for this condition and others do not. Pre-menstrual
syndrome (PMS) can be differentiated according to TCM diagnostics
into at least five different categories. Therefore, the
treatment protocol and herbal recommendations depend upon the proper
TCM diagnosis of the imbalance. Herbal prescriptions are
not based on just a symptom or disease. In fact, a condition
could worsen if the wrong herb or formula is recommended.
So remember, just because it worked for someone else with
the same disease or symptom does not mean that it is appropriate
for you. The patient must be diagnosed according to TCM
diagnostic techniques before herbal recommendations can be made.
Another example is asthma, it can be broken down into several different
types according to TCM. So just because a particular herb
or herbal formula worked well for your neighbor's asthma,
does not mean it will have the same effect for you. In
fact, it could even make you worse if your imbalance is the opposite
of your neighbor's. For any disease, it is recommended
that you seek the advice of a qualified, licensed TCM/ Oriental
Medical practitioner before experimenting with herbs for
the treatment of disease. |
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What
conditions does acupuncture treat? |
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Since
acupuncture and Oriental Medicine works by restoring the body's
natural balance, it will work to some degree on any non-optimum
health condition. Even cancer patients undergoing radiation or
chemotherapy often experience relief from symptoms and side effects
and even a resurgence of energy and vitality. |
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How
do I choose a licensed acupuncture physician? |
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The
same way you choose an auto mechanic, computer technician, or
medical doctor. Oriental medicine is a very broad subject, with
millions of pages of texts and a wide variety of disciplines. Though
it requires thousands of hours of training to be licensed as an
Acupuncture Physician in the State of Florida, no one can know
it all. Any competent auto mechanic can change your oil or solve
an obvious mechanical problem, but if you have serious problems
you go to a mechanic that specializes in your type of car. If you
have a serious medical problem, you go to a physician, Eastern
or Western that specializes in your type of condition. Most physicians,
eastern and western, have a general practice that addresses most
common conditions and a specialty in one or two fields in which
they are expert. You should pick a practitioner that you like and
can establish a good relationship with. If you have some special
condition, your practitioner should have some extra expertise in
that area.
In the United States a practitioner is commonly referred
to as an Acupuncturist, Licensed Acupuncturist, Acupuncture Physician,
Doctor of Acupuncture, Doctor of Oriental Medicine or Oriental
Medical Doctor. The titles vary according to the State's
licensing regulations. If seeking out a practitioner, it is recommended
that anyone practicing hold a professional license in the
practice of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. If an allied health
professional has incorporated any part of Oriental Medicine into
their practice, such as acupuncture or Chinese herbology, it
is recommended that they be certified by or have equivalent education
as outlined by the National Commission for the Certification
of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). Many schools throughout
the United States have similar curriculums to that of the schools
in China and it takes many years to attain minimum competency.
It is very important to remember that Acupuncture is not a development
of Western medical science. Many allied health care professionals
have legislatively included the practice of Acupuncture
or Oriental Medicine into their scope of practice with little or
no training required and have their certifications issued by
their own colleagues and professional boards. It's like the Board
of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine certifying a practitioner
to do surgery. This is clearly absurd. That is why it is important
for the consumer to check credentials, certifying agency and
most importantly, length of training before undergoing care.
For
information regarding a qualified, board certified specialist
in your area, you can contact
The National Commission
for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM)
at (202) 232-1404;
and in Florida,
The Florida State Oriental
Medical Association (FSOMA) at (800) 578-4865,
or
simply click here to go to our practitioner listing page.
Find
an acupuncture physician in your area now!
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