Natural Health

“Two years ago I started to get recurrent cystitis,” says Melanie. “Every two or three weeks it would come on and last for about a week. It was painful and depressing, and it was wearing me down. I talked about it to a colleague who recommended an acupuncturist. After the first session I felt like the cystitis was starting again, but it just went away. I had another two treatments to make sure the improvement was lasting, and I have never had cystitis since.”

Melanie is one of the thousands of people who has found acupuncture can put an end to chronic painful conditions that don’t seem to respond to conventional medicine. Doctors have also acknowledged its benefits. As yet medical science cannot adequately explain how inserting needles into points on the skin could benefit problems as diverse as asthma and alcoholism. Current Canadian research suggests that acupuncture modifies the functioning of the nervous and immune systems in a way that can improve health.

However, Richard Blackwell, principal of the Northern College of Acupuncture in York, believes the traditional Chinese theory of acupuncture is much more accurate than any offered by Western medicine. “It offers a complete and sophisticated description of the working of the body and detailed knowledge of how treating the energy under the skin can affect deeper function,” he says. “Eventually, science will have to take account of this concept of energy.”

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture means ‘needle piercing’. It has been practiced in China for about 3,000 years and has been popular in the west since the 1970s. Acupuncturists insert very fine needles into the skin to stimulate specific points in order to improve health. The needles are inserted a little way in, twiddled and either removed instantly or left in for about 20-30 minutes. In the hands of a fully trained and registered acupuncturist, this is a safe and effective treatment. People who dislike needles can be treated with lasers, heat or small electrical probes.

Acupuncture has become most popular as a form of pain relief. But when practiced according to the traditional Chinese guidelines, it is effective for all types of mental and physical problems.

The Chinese Theory Of Energy

In traditional Chinese medicine the body, mind and spirit all form a dynamic self-healing whole, fueled by vital energy or chi. Chi is said to flow through a network of invisible channels called meridians, which can be accessed at key points known as acupuncture points. Good health depends on chi energy flowing smoothly through 12 main meridians, each of which is believed to relate to a particular emotion and major organ.

Acupuncturists aim to re-balance the body’s energy levels by inserting needles into points along the meridians. There are 365 principal acupuncture points. Between four and 12 points might be used in any one session. Traditional acupuncturists do not carry out a conventional medical diagnosis. Instead they use the four Chinese examinations – asking, looking, smelling and touching. They ask about problems and lifestyle, look at skin, eyes and tongue, and test for up to 28 pulse ‘qualities’ on the wrists.

Western Style Acupuncture

Many doctors practice ‘Western acupuncture’. They do not accept the Chinese theory of energy. Instead they claim acupuncture works by triggering the release of endorphins, nature’s most powerful painkillers, or by blocking pain impulses from traveling along the pathways of the nervous system.

Both theories could explain how acupuncture relieves pain, but not how it helps other problems. At a recent US National Institute of Health conference experts examined all the research and concluded that acupuncture can be effective for a much wider range of conditions than just pain relief.

Some doctors accept research that has shown energy points to be areas of skin which conduct electricity much better than the surrounding skin. For this reason some practitioners believe electro acupuncture to be more effective than traditional methods. Practitioners pass a small electrical current through a needle or pen-like conductor to the acupuncture points to stimulate healing.

Acupuncture Is Good For:

• Pain relief, including pain relief during pregnancy and birth
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Asthma
• Addictions
• Digestive disorders
• Cystitis
• Migraine
• Allergies
• Blood pressure problems
• Reduced immunity to infection
• Muscular and joint pain
• Stress related problems
• Gynecological problems (period pain, irregular periods and infertility)
• Chronic fatigue syndrome

Acupuncture:

AVAILABILITY – Widespread

MEDICAL EVIDENCE – Increasing

MEDICAL ACCEPTANCE – Increasing

SELF HELP – Very Rare