Acupuncture

Acupuncture

I am deeply indebted to Tamzin Freeman for the following very comprehensive description of acupuncture and its uses.

Tamzin is an acupuncturist, kinesiologist and EFT practitioner, registered with the British Acupuncture Council. She practices in West London.

Contact Tamzin Freeman: 020 7370 4693 tamzin@tamzinfreeman.co.uk

Introduction and background

Acupuncture originated in China over two thousand years ago, as a method to maintain a healthy body and mind. Acupuncture today is still practiced according to the classics of this time.

Acupuncture is a form of energy medicine. It proposes Energy, or qi (pronounced "chee"), runs through the body along channels called meridians, and that illness occurs when the energy flow is disrupted.  The acupuncturist stimulates precise points on the meridians [trigger points] to restore balance and a healthy flow of energy.

Each meridian is named according to the organ whose energy influences it, so the Liver channel, Gall Bladder channel, Stomach channel, Heart channel, etc.

For each organ and meridian there are physiological functions and emotional patterns. This means acupuncture points on certain acupuncture channels are implicated with certain conditions. So for example, the Liver in Chinese Medicine facilitates the smooth flow of energy around the body. Liver disharmony, as a symptom, can be seen in liver disease, but also includes eye problems, menstrual pain, headaches, even insomnia; emotionally it can manifest as depression, or the wound-up or teary feelings, pre-menstrually.

Western scientists are starting to identify some of the physiological mechanisms at work, and there's evidence that the insertion of needles into designated acupuncture points speeds the conduction of electromagnetic signals within the body. These signals may increase the flow of endorphins and other pain-relieving chemicals, as well as immune system cells, which aid healing.

What kind of complaints are treated by acupuncture?

Since acupuncture rebalances the body, and proposes that if the body is in perfect balance, then there will be no illness – acupuncture should aid any symptom.

NICE(National Institute of Clinical Excellence) recommend acupuncture for back pain and migraine.

WHO (The World Health Organisation) lists the following diseases or symptoms for which acupuncture has proven to be effective:

1. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture has been proved-through controlled trials-to be an effective treatment:

• Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy
  Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
  Biliary colic
  Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
  Dysentery, acute bacillary
  Dysmenorrhoea, primary
  Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)
  Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
  Headache
  Hypertension, essential
  Hypotension, primary
  Induction of labour
  Knee pain
  Leukopenia
  Low back pain
  Malposition of fetus, correction of
  Morning sickness
  Nausea and vomiting
  Neck pain
  Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
  Periarthritis of shoulder
  Postoperative pain
  Renal colic
  Rheumatoid arthritis
  Sciatica
  Sprain
  Stroke
  Tennis elbow

2. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed: 

• Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
  Acne vulgaris
  Alcohol dependence and detoxification
  Bell’s palsy
  Bronchial asthma
  Cancer pain
  Cardiac neurosis
  Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation
  Cholelithiasis
  Competition stress syndrome
  Craniocerebral injury, closed
  Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent
  Earache
  Epidemic haemorrhagic fever
  Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease)
  Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection
  Female infertility
  Facial spasm
  Female urethral syndrome
  Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
  Gastrokinetic disturbance
  Gouty arthritis
  Hepatitis B virus carrier status
  Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
  Hyperlipaemia
  Hypo-ovarianism
  Insomnia
  Labour pain
  Lactation, deficiency
  Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic
  Ménière disease
  Neuralgia, post-herpetic
  Neurodermatitis
  Obesity
  Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
  Osteoarthritis
  Pain due to endoscopic examination
  Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans
  Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein-Leventhal syndrome)
  Postextubation in children
  Postoperative convalescence
  Premenstrual syndrome
  Prostatitis, chronic
  Pruritus
  Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome
  Raynaud syndrome, primary
  Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection
  Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
  Retention of urine, traumatic
  Schizophrenia
  Sialism, drug-induced
  Sjögren syndrome
  Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
  Spine pain, acute
  Stiff neck
  Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
  Tietze syndrome
  Tobacco dependence
  Tourette syndrome
  Ulcerative colitis, chronic
  Urolithiasis
  Vascular dementia
  Whooping cough (pertussis)

3. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which there are only individual controlled trials reporting some therapeutic effects, but for which acupuncture is worth trying because treatment by conventional and other therapies is difficult:

• Chloasma
  Choroidopathy, central serous
  Colour blindness
  Deafness
  Hypophrenia
  Irritable colon syndrome
  Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury
  Pulmonary heart disease, chronic
  Small airway obstruction

4. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture may be tried provided the practitioner has special modern medical knowledge and adequate monitoring equipment: 

• Breathlessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  Coma
  Convulsions in infants
  Coronary heart disease (angina pectoris)
  Diarrhoea in infants and young children
  Encephalitis, viral, in children, late stage
  Paralysis, progressive bulbar and pseudobulbar

What to expect from an acupuncture session

The acupuncturist will take a medical history, and ask questions about your current complaint. They will take your pulse (there are three different pulse positions in each wrist which represent the energy of different organs). They will look at your tongue, (different parts of the tongue represent different organs).

Based on this assessment the acupuncturist will use different acupuncture points to treat your symptoms.

What does it feel like?

You may feel a dull ache, or a tingle when the acupuncture needle is inserted. It is about the width of a shaft of hair – much finer than medical needles.

Most patients will feel “floaty” or very relaxed once the pins are in – some may go to sleep.

What to expect from treatment

You will generally notice a difference from just one treatment, both physically and emotionally. For some, the effect is immediate, for others it may take 24-48 hours to take effect.

Depending on symptoms a series of treatments are recommended, each treatment building on the next.

Some people with very busy lives have regular treatment to stay both mentally and physically well.

References and more information

The British Acupuncture Council is the regulating body in the UK. They provide a list of qualified acupuncturists (a highly demanding, rigorous training of over 3,600 hours), they also provide further research on acupuncture for specific conditions

Observations

For iPad/iPhone users: tap letter twice to get list of items.

• 'Alternative' medicine and treatment for children in Italy
• Acupuncture and cardiac arrhythmia
• Acupuncture combined with spinal tui na for treatment of primary dysmenorrhea in 30 cases
• Acupuncture pain management for patients with cystic fibrosis: a pilot study
• Adams, Ryan - Helping cope with Meniere's disease
• Amanda Platell - Acupuncture for eye problems
• Complementary strategies for the management of radiation therapy side effects
• Dance as a therapy for cancer prevention
• Effect of acupressure with valerian oil 2.5% on the quality and quantity of sleep in patients with acute coronary syndrome in a cardiac intensive care unit
• Hartford Hospital - Reiki survey 2
• Healing anxiety disorders
• Increased beta-endorphin but not met-enkephalin levels in human cerebrospinal fluid after acupuncture for recurrent pain
• Morrells, Luce and Pink clouds and bliss from acupuncture
• Raikov, Professor Vladimir L - Psychic Discoveries – 08 Testing using CCAP (Conductivity of the Channels of Acupuncture Points)
• The CACTUS Study - Acupuncture and 'an increase in physical and/or mental energy'
• The CACTUS study - acupuncture for musculoskeletal pain
• The treatment of Meniere's disease by acupuncture
• Tongue acupuncture works!