MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE
Acupuncture is an ancient form of Chinese therapy that uses the insertion of thin needles into specific points on the body to promote healing. In the Chinese view of health and disease, excess or deficiency of the Qi (pronounced chee) with in our body leads to illness. The Qi is also called prana in India or is otherwise referred to as the life force by various other traditions. The acupuncture points lie at a specific anatomical location along a line called a meridian. Each meridian line represents the energy of a specific organ such as the kidney or heart. For example, the Kidney meridian governs our bones and joints and is crucial to our overall level of vitality. If a person comes to the acupuncturist with a generalized arthritic condition, needles will be inserted into several points on the Kidney meridian.
Although this system of treatment is very different from Western medicine, research by scientists has begun to show that this modality is quite effective for a number of conditions. Studies of the points themselves show that they exist as a thin tunnel that have lower electrical resistance than the surrounding tissue. Radioactive dye injected into a point has been shown to travel at a constant rate along the course of the meridian line. The National Institute of Health Consensus Conference on Acupuncture stated that post-operative nausea and vomiting, post-extraction dental pain and several other conditions are effectively treated by acupuncture.
Numerous medical doctors are now using acupuncture in their practice and many belong to the American Association of Medical Acupuncture (www.medicalacupuncture.org). In addition to the Traditional Chinese medicine approach to diagnosis and treatment, these doctors also utilize an approach based on modern neuroanatomical understanding of pain patterns and disease. The needles used are disposable sterile stainless steel and very thin. Because they are not hollow with a cutting tip like a hypodermic needle, insertion is generally painless. A treatment may consist of from 1 to 30 or more needles that are left in for 10 to 50 minutes. Wires are often hooked up to the needles and low voltage electrical current is run during treatment. This results in greater movement of energy and a stronger response toward the desired result. Treatments for chronic problems are commonly every week until a good response is achieved and then sessions are gradually spread out until the condition goes away. If the problem keeps recurring, periodic maintenance treatments may be effective in controlling symptoms.
Side effects include occasional small bleeding under the skin, fatigue for 24 hours following a treatment of minor worsening of the symptoms for a day. Serious complications are rare but can include organ puncture, nerve damage, infection and arterial bleeding. An acupuncturist with good technique and knowledge of anatomy should be able to avoid all of these. Conditions which may be helped by acupuncture include chronic pain in the joints, spine or muscles, headaches, TMJ problems, sinusitis, chest pain, asthma, bronchitis, bursitis, tendonitis, reflux, gastritis, constipation, menstrual problems, painful scars, phantom limb pain, smoking cessation, depression, ringing in the ears, laryngitis, acute sprains, herpes outbreaks, poison ivy/oak rashes, trigger points, and fatigue. If you consult a medical doctor for acupuncture, they should be able to evaluate that you do not have a serious underlying medical condition before starting a lengthy course of treatments.
Daniel Blodgett MD