Thursday, April 14, 2005
Acupuncture: What's up with that?
The Southern Medical Journal has published a paper by two American doctors reviewing the science and practice of acupuncture from the perspective of Western medicine. Link here (free registration required). Here's the introduction, but dig deeper for the science:
The TigerHawk sister-in-law, a retired vet, used to practice acupuncture on horses. That was, er, something to see.
Acupuncture is among the best known of complementary and alternative therapies. Acupuncture is a treatment method that originated more than 3,000 years ago in China and is practiced in most of the world. The method is commonly practiced as a routine treatment in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, and since the late 1970s has gained popularity in the United States as well as other parts of the Western world. Its application in humans and for a wide array of clinical conditions requires explanation. This review will provide the busy clinician with a short summary of the history of acupuncture, models of its imputed mechanism of action, evidence base for effectiveness, and resources for further information about acupuncture. Primarily though, we provide a summary of the kinds of clinical applications for which acupuncture can be considered and a model for how to integrate a referral for acupuncture into the medical setting.
The practice of acupuncture consists of inserting fine, solid needles (usually 32 to 36 gauge) into selected body locations (acupuncture points). Classic texts describe 365 points located in systematic fashion on meridians or channels of energy flow that are mapped onto the surface of the body. Key principles in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are that both wellness and illness result from an imbalance of yin and yang. Yin refers to the feminine aspect of life: nourishing, lower, cool, deficient, inside, receptive, protective, soft, yielding. Yang is the male counterpoint: hard, dominant, energetic, upper, hot, excessive, outside, creative. The movement between these opposite forces, named Qi, is considered to be the essential element in the healing system of TCM. It is best thought of as energy becoming manifest, a vitalistic force that flows ceaselessly through the meridians, or energy channels of the body.
Although a discussion of the diagnostic and pathophysiologic metaphors of TCM is beyond the scope of this article, suffice it to say that it remains an internally coherent set of correlations based on close clinical observation, which are expressed in symbology existing for millennia. If, to our contemporary minds, such terms may seem quaint, dated, or even naíve, they are highly useful in the context of TCM.
Imbalances in the flow of Qi among the meridians, organs, and five elements is the cause of disease, pain, and susceptibility to illness. Balancing such factors as heat, cold, dampness, dryness, in both exterior and interior domains is done by TCM practitioners as well as medical acupuncturists using needles inserted at key points along these meridians. Other practices included in the TCM system include dietary approaches, herbalism, cupping, moxibustion (the heating of an acupuncture point or needle with a smoldering herb), massage (Tui Na), Tai Chi exercise, and meditation.
The TigerHawk sister-in-law, a retired vet, used to practice acupuncture on horses. That was, er, something to see.
1 Comments:
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