Acupuncture

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Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient method of therapy that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago. It consists of inserting solid, hair-thin needles through the skin at very specific sites to achieve a cure of a disease or to relieve pain.

Until the 1990s, acupuncture was viewed skeptically by Western physicians. However, as of 2006, the practice has become more widespread and accepted. As evidence of this change in perception, a 1998 consensus statement released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States said evidence clearly shows acupuncture helps relieve many types of chronic and acute pain; nausea and vomiting associated chemotherapy, anesthesia, and pregnancy; and alters immune system functions. Statistics compiled in 2002 as part of the National Health Interview Survey revealed that an estimated 8.2 million adult Americans have used acupuncture, with over 2 million Americans having done so in the previous year.

In the Far East, acupuncture has been used extensively for over 2,000 years. It is considered one part of a

total regimen that includes herbal medicine, closely guided dietetics, and psychological counseling. In ancient Chinese philosophy, good health depends on the uninterrupted flow of vital energy called “qi” (sometimes written as chi but pronounced chee) throughout the body. When qi is interrupted, pain and disease follow. Qi flows through 12 pairs of pathways called meridians—one pair of each meridian lies on either side of the body. An additional two meridians run along the midline of the front and back. So-called extrameridians are scattered about and connect the meridians on each side. Other points outside the meridians—on the hands, ears, and face—have specific reflex effects. Altogether, there are more than 1,000 acupuncture points. Inserting needles into points along appropriate meridians unblocks qi, restoring energy balance and health.

The concept of meridians developed as the ancient Chinese discovered that pain in a given area responded not only to pressure or puncture in its immediate vicinity, but also to pressure at distant points. Pain in one arm, for example, often responds to acupuncture in the opposite arm in the area corresponding to the painful arm. As the concept of acupuncture took shape, the ancient Chinese learned that points on the body, when stimulated, helped to ease pain or heal internal diseases. They also discovered other points that were distant from the affected area that could be stimulated to achieve pain relief in the affected area. As the number of points grew, they were connected by the meridians and were labeled by their function. The large intestine meridian, for example, originates at the root of the fingernail of the first finger. The channel courses along the thumb side of the arm, over the shoulder, up the neck to the face, and ends at the nostril. The stomach meridian begins below the eye, courses across the face up to the forehead, then reverses direction to run down the throat, along the chest and abdomen, down the front of the thigh and lower leg, across the ankle and foot, and ends at the lateral side of the root of the second toenail. The Conception Vessel is the name given to one of the midline meridians. Its route is from the genital area straight up the middle of the abdomen to end at the center of the lower lip. The posterior midline meridian, the Governor Vessel, starts at the tailbone, courses up the spine, over the midline of the head and ends on the front of the upper gum.

During the acupuncture procedure, 1-20 hair-thin needles are inserted under the skin, some of which may be inserted as deep as 3 in (7.6 cm). Short needles are used for areas that are less fleshy, while longer needles are utilized in areas of deep flesh and muscle. The needles will remain inserted from 15-30 minutes. Needles are always solid; nothing is ever injected through them into the body. When the needle enters the skin, the patient may feel minor transient pain. When the needle tip reaches the depth of the meridian, the patient will have a sensation of radiating warmth or fullness. The insertion points nearest the painful area are usually treated first, then the distant points. For acute conditions, the treatment may be given twice a day. For a long-lasting condition (chronic pain), the treatment can be given every second or third day for up to 20 treatments, after which no acupuncture should be given for several weeks.

Because acupuncture points are very specifically located, and because people are different sizes, the Chinese developed a special system of measuring the body called cun, or “human inch.” This term has since been modernized to the Acupuncture Unit of Measurement (AUM). The AUM divides a given distance on the human body into equal parts. For example, the AUM of the chest is the division of the distance between the nipples into eight AUM. The distance from the lower end of the breastbone (sternum) to the umbilicus also is eight AUM. Thus, a broad-chested man may have a distance of 12 in (30.48 cm) between the nipples and the smaller man may have only 10 in (25.4 cm). Nevertheless, the distance is divided into eight units because it is eight AUM across the thorax. The upper arm from crease of the elbow to armpit is nine AUM, the lower arm from crease of the elbow to crease of the wrist is 12 AUM, and so on until all the areas of the body have been given standard AUM dimensions.

When the appropriate points have been located and the needles inserted, the acupuncturist rotates the needles occasionally or, in some cases, a mild electric current is passed through them to stimulate the meridian. Another technique, known as moxibustion, uses heat stimulation. After the needle is inserted, a small piece of dried leaf from the Artemisia vulgaris plant is

KEY TERMS

Analgesia —The effect of relieving pain. A drug or procedure that provides analgesia is an analgesic.

Anesthetic —A substance that will induce sleep so that an individual can undergo surgery or remain unconscious until a crucial and painful period of a surgical procedure has passed.

Chronic —A disease or condition that develops slowly and exists over a long period of time.

Opioid peptides —Natural substances produced by the brain to desensitize against pain.

Thalamus —Portion of the brain involved in transmission and integration of certain physical sensations.

Thorax —The area just below the head and neck; the chest.

placed in a little cup on the needle’s exposed end and lighted. The heat passes through the needle to the area of pain. A few points on the body are not suited to needle insertion. In these instances, a small, smoldering cone of Artemisia vulgaris is placed directly on the skin and the heat is allowed to penetrate.

What makes acupuncture effective remains a matter of scientific investigation. However, the meridians seem to be pathways of nerve fibers. There are some adverse side effects of acupuncture, most of which result from lack of knowledge or unhygienic practices on the part of the acupuncturist.

See also Acupressure; Alternative medicine.

Resources

BOOKS

Kidson, Ruth. Acupuncture for Everyone: What It Is, Why It Works, and How It Can Help You. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 2000.

Lian, Yu-Lin, Chun-Yan Chen, Michael Hammes, and Bernard C. Kolster. Pictorial Atlas of Acupuncture; an Illustrated Manual of Acupuncture Points. Cologne: Konemann, 2005.

Liang, Lifang. Acupuncture & IVF. Boulder: Blue Poppy Press, 2003.