Acupuncture – what is this treatment method? When is it worth using acupuncture?

Proven content

Acupuncture is a method of treating various diseases by means of puncturing the patient’s body with special needles. The basic premise of acupuncture is that areas on the skin are associated with specific internal organs, so stimulating the skin with needles in a given area will bring relief to a specific disease state.

Acupuncture – a historical outline

Acupuncture comes from ancient China. According to one of the legends, it was discovered by a military doctor who observed and described the condition of one of the soldiers he treated during the war – the soldier was wounded several times by an arrow and after another wound he said that the pain had passed. The doctor then repeated this action and shot the same part of the body of another soldier who had suffered from a similar condition – the procedure was reportedly successful. Although it is only a legend, there are archaeological discoveries confirming that acupuncture has been used since the most ancient times.

Acupuncture is a method of treatment that punctures active points on the body with needles. It developed mainly in the Far East countries. It began to be used in Europe in the XNUMXth century – it was brought here by Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant and traveler. However, it was introduced to Western medicine by William Osler in the XNUMXth century. In Poland, acupuncture began to be used in the seventies of the last century – then it was used to treat migraines in adults.

The World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as a therapeutic method. The technique is officially used in all European countries, in America and Australia. It is best developed in Our Country and Ukraine – research on acupuncture is conducted there in medical institutes and – what is more – it is taught at universities and used in hospitals and clinics. The International Congress of Acupuncture was held for the first time in what was then Czechoslovakia in 1972.

Acupuncture – what does it help?

Acupuncture helps in the treatment of certain diseases, especially those resulting from infection, mechanical trauma and stress. Stimulation with needles a given area on the patient’s skin improves blood flow to the organ associated with it through the network of nerve connections, and this mobilizes the body’s immune forces, improves blood supply and oxygenation of internal organs and generally strengthens the condition of the body.

Acupuncture however, it will not help in the case of diseases at an advanced stage or chronic diseases. it is ineffective or has little effect, for example, in the treatment of cancer, chronic hypertension, diseases of the immune system such as AIDS, and in the case of hearing loss caused by damage to the middle ear. Be careful use acupuncture in the treatment of mental illness – it has been shown that this method can help in the treatment of neuroses, but not in anxiety neuroses, obsessive-compulsive disorders, depression, various types of phobias and schizophrenia

Basic acupuncture concepts

Acupuncture is sometimes considered a spiritual practice. The Chinese describe the mechanism of its operation always referring to the concepts related to this sphere of life. In their opinion, in order to understand the mechanisms of acupuncture, one should understand what they are: Chi, Ying and Yang, the rule of the Five Elements, the meridian and the acupuncture point. Although acupuncture is considered a therapeutic method, it is worth knowing that it is related to the religion of the East.

1. About

Acupuncture specialists believe that the life force, also called energy or “Chi”, circulates in the human body. Its characteristics can be found in the old Chinese books – Chi is considered a force without which both a single cell and the whole organism cannot function properly. According to acupuncture specialists, the disease causes the body’s (human and animal) levels of Chi to drop. Then, puncturing the energetically weakened channel makes the energy level even out.

1. Ying i Yang

“Ying” and “Yang” are two separate forces, representing the opposite functions of the organism. Acupuncture specialists believe that the forces are interrelated and that they exist in harmony and balance. When the balance between them is disturbed, the proper functioning of the organ or the organism as a whole is disturbed. Yang describes what in the universe can be defined as the positive phase – e.g. sky, sun, summer, fire, heat, masculine gender. In turn, Ying is defined as what in the world has a negative phase – e.g. moon, darkness, earth, water, female gender.

1. The Rule of Five Elements

It is closely related to the Ying and Yang theory. The Rule of the Five Elements states that the foundation of the world is: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. This results in interdependencies, e.g. that individual elements interact with each other and one creative element supports the other and stimulates action. According to acupuncture specialists, the activities that the human body shows are the alternation of the Ying and Yang cycles and the two cycles, usually the Five Elements.

1. Meridian

The Chinese believe that the meridians are “energy channels” that connect specific points on the body’s surface with internal organs. Meridians pair with each other via the Luo connecting knobs. This name also functions in traditional medicine and is widespread in Europe and America – it is divided into main and additional meridians. Meridians have outer and inner branches.

1. Acupuncture points

The acupuncture point is one of the most important elements of Chinese medicine. The Chinese detected about 670 of them. Another name for acupuncture points is “biologically active points” and “Chinese points”. Puncturing them and heating them causes the body to regain its disturbed balance between Yang and Ying and regulate Chi circulation, according to acupuncture specialists. These points are present on the skin of a person from birth – the size of each of them oscillates between 2-5 mm.

1. Check out how to use an acupressure mat

Acupuncture – what is the procedure?

Its basis is the procedure of piercing points on the surface of the body. Each procedure is different, so the doctor must carefully prepare before performing it. The entire treatment consists of 10-15 treatments. Both for each patient and for each disease, it is necessary to prepare an individual treatment plan and determine which points should be punctured. Equally important is the selection of the right set of needles, the correct disinfection of the skin, the way of inserting the needles and the method of stimulating them.

When selecting puncture points, the doctor may use dedicated software or use a pointoscope and an electronic acupuncture point detector. The puncture itself is a task that is performed extremely carefully – the patient then lies down. The depth at which the needles are inserted depends on the type of puncture points. In addition, acupuncture points are small and are often located in close proximity to sensitive places, e.g. eyes, ears, lungs and large blood vessels – therefore the doctor must make every move precisely.

The needles can be inserted in many ways – perpendicular, oblique, fast, slow, with or without fixation. The method of piercing also depends on the part of the body – it is pierced differently on the chest and on the back or thigh. The doctor performing the procedure must have extensive experience gained during many years of work. Using the services of such a specialist will minimize the risk of tissue damage.

1. Find out more about acupressure points

Typically, the needles are inserted a few millimeters deep. However, an important element of the treatment is also the irritation of acupuncture points – it consists in the use of various methods of needle manipulation, e.g. rotation, punching and vibration. Each of them makes it possible to obtain a different effect, e.g. stimulation or inhibition.

To feel safe, instead of traditional acupuncture, try a wooden roller foot massager, which helps to stimulate various receptors located on the feet, thus affecting the entire body.

Acupuncture – puncture methods

The primary method of acupuncture treatment is pricking. Its goal is to obtain a strong or weak stimulus that is supposed to affect the acupuncture point – how strong the stimulus is depends on factors such as the type of disease, its severity, and the patient’s age. The strength of the stimulus depends on the depth of puncture and the time the needle is left in the patient’s body. Other sources of stimulation of sensitive points are also: pressure, massage, heating, cooling, distilled water injection and cupping.

Acupuncture – is the procedure painful?

Each acupuncture treatment produces certain feelings. However, the puncture is felt when the energy point is not empty. The sensory reaction depends on the general condition of the patient – the better condition the patient is, the more he may feel the needle sticking in. Interestingly, exhausted people often do not feel punctures – this is a common phenomenon. The needle inserted into the point need not, however, cause pain, but rather a pleasant warmth, tingling, itching or a slight spreading.

Acupuncture needles – what should you know about them?

They are the basic tool used during acupuncture treatment. Originally, however, completely different needles were used than today – several thousand years ago, sharp pieces of plants, sharp ends of stones or even fish bones were used for piercing. With time, needles began to be produced from jasper quartz, flint and porcelain shards. Only later did the needles of silver, gold and steel begin to be made.

Chinese medicine recognizes that the material from which the needle is made has an impact on the patient’s health – gold needles have a stimulating effect and silver needles have a calming effect. At present, stainless steel needles are used. Interestingly, the chemical composition of these tools and the method of their production is the secret of the companies producing them. These tools must have sufficiently high strength, sharpness, hardness and elasticity – and at the same time, they cannot dull quickly and be resistant to tissue fluids.

An important issue with acupuncture needles is their use and sterilization – they should be handled like any other surgical instrument. All bacteria and viruses must always be removed from the needles. This allows the patient to avoid infection with, for example, infectious hepatitis or HIV. Although some specialists believe that the possibility of HIV infection during the procedure is relatively low, it does not mean that the needles should not be properly sterilized.

What is electroacupressure?

Electroacupressure is the action of an electric current on acupressure points. In this case, the points do not need to be punctured, but the electrodes should be glued to them. The stimulus that stimulates the receptors will be a current of varying intensity and frequency. Electroacupressure is used, for example, by physical therapists. The development of electronics contributed to the inclusion of methods like this in acupuncture.

There is a view among specialists in electroacupuncture that the use of a current of 10-200 microamperes and a frequency of 1 to 60 Hz gives the most benefits – the stimulation time should not exceed several dozen minutes. Among the electroacupressure methods, the Ryodoraku method by Yoshio Nakatani is the most popular.

Acupuncture – what is its mechanism of action?

The mechanism of acupuncture is still under investigation. The explanation is sought, among others in the involvement of endocrine glands. Tests take place in neurophysiology and endocrinology laboratories and are carried out on animals – during the tests, doctors use isotope and radioimmunoassay methods, and also implant microelectrodes in the brain tissue and measure the potential of neurons.

Research shows that acupuncture treatment increases the concentration of ACTH – 5 minutes after the puncture. The increase in ACTH concentration increases the concentration of adrenal cortex hormones and reduces the concentration of cholesterol, lipids and adrenal ascorbic acid. The researchers also found that female individuals are more likely to be punctured (up to 10 times).

The thyroid gland can also be treated with acupuncture. It turns out that treatment with it causes a reduction in the volume of the thyroid gland with increased functional activity of the gland, confirmed by increased uptake of radioactive iodine, but this was proved in a study carried out on rabbits. Nevertheless, the procedure caused the thyroid follicles in the animals to empty the colloid material more quickly.

Acupuncture also affects the adrenal glands – this has been determined from both animal and human studies. After several treatments of stimulating certain acupuncture points, the number of white blood cells in the circulating blood decreases. According to the findings of biochemists, acupuncture and electroacupuncture used for therapeutic purposes increase the production of adrenal hormones.

Despite many studies on the effects of acupuncture on the body, it is still unknown how it affects the pancreas. The information available on this subject is not clear. The Chinese also use acupuncture to treat infectious diseases – according to clinical observations have been successful in treating diseases such as malaria, erysipelas, shingles, mumps and viral hepatitis.

Traditional Chinese medicine and pathogens

Traditional Chinese medicine attaches importance to anti-disease factors, i.e. factors of internal origin that determine the development of a disease. The purpose of acupuncture treatments is prevention and treatment by regulation – these actions are to strengthen the anti-disease factor. Pathogenic factors according to Traditional Chinese medicine is the ingredients of the weather – they are called causative factors.

Chinese natural medicine doctors distinguish various pathogens. They include, for example, factors of the natural environment, that is: wind, cold, summer heat, humidity, dryness and heat. In their opinion, ascending or descending winds can attack the upper body; the cold destroys the yang of the body and makes it lose its heat-generating function.

Illnesses can also be caused by emotional factors. According to traditional Chinese medicine, they are: joy, sadness, anger, reverie, bitterness, fear and terror – they cause diseases of internal origin. The Chinese believe that anger hurts the liver, terror and utter joy to the heart, fear to the kidneys, reverie to the spleen, and sadness and bitterness to the lungs.

According to Chinese Medicine, the following pathogens are also: irregular nutrition, fatigue, excess or lack of mental effort, bodily injuries and phlegm. For example, irregular nutrition may disrupt the transport function; fatigue and deficiency or excess of physical exertion can cause disease symptoms.

Home acupuncture – is it worth it?

Performing acupuncture at home on your own is risky. Nevertheless, the awareness that there are sensitive points on the body, the pressure of which can bring relief, is sometimes helpful – it makes it easier to deal with pain, e.g. during a trip or at home, during a sudden attack of a headache or toothache. Compressing sensitive points can also reduce pain when participating in a painful procedure, e.g. drilling cavities.

The most useful acupressure technique that you can use for your own use is to press down on the right points with your fingers. To do this, you need to put pressure on the skin with your thumb and make a circular motion at the same time – this is a form of gentle massage that can be used for a few minutes. It is good to know that the pressure force should be large enough for a feeling of tearing to arise at a sensitive point.

Acupuncture or acupressure?

Acupressure, also known as needle-free acupuncture, is a method of treating diseases and ailments. Unlike acupuncture, it does not use pricking, but stroking, pressing and tapping. Acupressure owes its popularity to the ease of its implementation – the treatment can be performed in almost all conditions and, if properly performed, should have no side effects. What’s more, you don’t need to use any special equipment.

During the treatment, massage and compression of biologically active points takes place – these points have special properties. These are places on the surface of the body that differ in thermal, biochemical and electrical properties. You can even do acupressure yourself – the massage uses your fingertips or an eraser at the end of a pencil.