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Read more...Acupuncture serves as one alternative to modern treatment methods for improving fertility. Couples that are having functional problems like irregularity in ovulation are more likely to benefit from acupuncture than those who experience structural problems like having a blocked sperm duct or damaged fallopian tubes.
Read more...A Tucson study divided women with mild depression into three groups. The first was treated with the recommended methods for acupuncture and depression, the second was treated by acupuncture used for other conditions and the third, the control group, was put on a waiting list. Both of the first two groups were told they were receiving the methods of acupuncture and depression. The finding was that the first group had as much improvement as if they received medication.
The other two groups fared less well but had a little improvement. This study and other studies for acupuncture and depression was reviewed by the Cochrane Group, a scientific group that is looking for evidence concerning acupuncture, decided that none of the acupuncture and depression studies were sufficiently convincing to advance medical science’s approval of acupuncture and depression. While science continues to study the efficacy of acupuncture and depression, many anecdotal stories tell of happy patients.
Acupuncture treatment depends on precise placement of needle in acupoints drawn by centuries of practitioners. Roughly put, the points are found along lines of “chi” or energy from major organs along the back and limbs of sufferers. As with Feng Shui, the idea is to allow the chi to flow unimpeded while balancing yin and yang. As for acupuncture and depression, needles are mostly placed along the right side of the body to correct the flow of chi.
Read more...The origins of acupuncture are lost in the mists of time. One might presume that successful aspects of acupressure and bloodletting slowly combined into a separate discipline that worked well enough to survive through the centuries fueled in part by the confidence of the patient in the mysterious practitioner. Unlike Western science, the discoveries and studies of TCM practitioners were never written down to be shared by the common person. Theories and practices were instead, passed down from master to apprentice in secret. It is possible that successful techniques were compiled and theories were built around them using the beliefs of the Eastern cultures.
Read more...Acupuncture is a method developed over the course of thousands of years in the East as part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Popular culture portrays acupuncture as pain therapy administered by practitioners using thin needles placed in specific points of the body. Essentially, this is a fair portrayal – although pop culture usually paints the patient as quirky, sometimes to the point of not deserving the fruits of the ancient practice. Modern medicine has a more difficult time finding the right place for acupuncture. TCM precedes the scientific method by a substantial number of years and is now difficult to explain the successes of such things as acupuncture and depression.
Read more...Unlike acupuncture, herbal Chinese medicine seems to be finding favor among researchers. Studies reveal that these herbal medicines rarely evoke any adverse reactions. In fact, they appear more successful in their safety than most pharmaceutical drugs. Both traditional and modern herbal formulas are now commercially available for use by people of all ages and any physical constitution.
Chinese herbal medicines are being used for treating digestive problems, psychological disorders, gynecological problems, allergic conditions, immunity problems, children's illnesses, pain, respiratory diseases, and addictive disorders (alcoholism, smoking etc.).
A strikingly successful point about Chinese herbal medicine is that pregnant women can use most of them without any risk. However, it is always recommended to consult the physician before taking herbal formulas.
The standards of acupuncture and Chinese medicine have not been fully approved by the FDA. Acupuncture needles are not recommended for using more than once. Certification of acupuncture today remains a sham in most American physicians. The goal of this sham is making money by cashing the desperation of patients who have not benefited from medical treatments.
The National Council Against Health Fraud has declared acupuncture as an unproven means of treatment whose concepts of healing are primitive and false. The perceived positive effects of acupuncture are regarded as the result of the patient's own expectations and placebo effect.
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine are gaining popularity among Americans for treating diseases that are resistant to medical therapies. These Chinese treatment methods are based on the mystical belief that a cosmic energy, Chi, flows throughout the human body and its blockage results in illness or pain.
Using acupuncture and Chinese medicine (mainly herbs) restores the Chi flow to normal and thus cures the illness. Acupuncture attempts to arrive at this aim by inserting needles into specific points on the skin (or on the external ear). Several medical authorities and professionals have lately challenged acupuncture and Chinese medicine as not free of risk.
Risks Associated with Traditional Chinese Treatment
A number of risks are associated with acupuncture. For example, if the needle handling is not carried out with care, it can cause fainting, hematoma (localized bleeding that can shift along the organ's length), punctured lung, convulsions, and localized infections. If the needles used are not sterilized, Hepatitis B might result. Skin diseases and nerve damage are other risks. However, more than one study confirms that if a trained physician is performing the acupuncture, then the practice is virtually risk-free.
Acupuncture and acupressure known as Zhen Jiu and Zhi Ya respectively, are the best known of all traditional Chinese methods to treat health conditions. Acupuncture is now a very popular alternative therapy for arthritis pain relief and acupressure makes use of the same points without using any needles, as the fingers are enough.
A person suffering from nausea may be given acupressure as means of providing relief and this is achieved by pressing down hard with the thumb or finger on the groove that lies between two large tendons running from the base of the palm all the way up to the elbow. Using acupuncture, the same could be achieved through puncturing the skin with long, thin needles.
Read more...Acupuncture and acupressure are different since the former causes the skin to be punctured with very thin and long needles and it has to be performed by a practitioner who is experienced in traditional Chinese medicine whereas acupressure can be learnt from a handbook and a person may even perform a miniature massage on oneself, anywhere. Also, acupressure has been practiced long before acupuncture became known and that is another difference between acupuncture and acupressure.
In addition, since acupuncture requires using a tool it needs greater accuracy to bring quick relief whereas acupressure is less precise since one only the finger is used as a tool. There may also be some side effects as a result of acupuncture that are caused due to release of toxins or through realignment of the muscle groups. Acupuncture and acupressure thus have different effects on the patient with acupressure having fewer side effects and this may be somewhat akin to deep tissue massages where there is also less scope of doing wrong to the patient.
Acupuncture and acupressure are different; because acupuncture makes use of thin needles while addressing health concerns, acupressure does not break the skin. That is not to say that the two are poles apart and in fact they have much in common since both are centered on touching meridians which carry energy or chi right through a person’s body.
Traditional Chinese medicine says that ailments occur due to blockage of chi in any of the fourteen different meridians and both acupuncture and acupressure advocate energy to flow without blockages. One or both are used to treat allergies, depression, nausea, migraine headaches, arthritis, menstrual cramps as well as anxieties.
Acupuncture in China goes way back to the 1st millennium B.C. and there is also archeological evidence to prove that it can be dated to the Han Dynasty. There is also literature available of traditional Korean medicine that was known as chimsul and Japanese versions referred to as Kampo. Acupuncture does not really follow the trail of scientific biomedicine and is more of a paradigm whereby it treats the human body that involves many ‘systems of function’ that often is associated with physical organs, though some systems of function such as the triple heater (San Jiao) are not associated with a physical organ.
Disease is considered to being loss of homeostasis that exists in the various systems of function and in order to treat such diseases, an attempt is made to modify the activity using one or more systems of function through use of needles, pressure, heat on the body’s sensitive areas localized as acupuncture points and is referred to as treatment of patterns of disharmony.It is not necessary for the acupoints to be on the same area of the body as the targeted symptoms and many acupuncturists, especially those in Japan, are heavily dependent on palpation for tender points, which are known as ashi points. The basic theory to this form of treatment is that they work through stimulation of the meridian system and give relief through rebalancing the yin, yang and qi and this theory is based on a paradigm not science.
The technique of inserting and manipulating needles on the body is known as acupuncture and according to its teachings; acupuncture helps restore health and well-being and is especially beneficial in the treatment of pain. The World Health Organization has defined and characterized acupuncture points and recognizes acupuncture. It is well known that the origins of acupuncture lie in China and are closely related to most traditional Chinese medicines. There are other forms of acupuncture such as the Japanese, Korean as well as classical Chinese versions which are not only practiced but also taught all around the world today.
Scientific research has been taken up with finding out whether acupuncture is efficacious or is merely a panacea and there have been many reviews of existing clinical trials which suggest that it is efficacious for headaches, low back pain as well as nausea. However, there does not seem to be sufficient evidence to determine whether acupuncture is effectual or not, for most other medical conditions. Nevertheless, there is consensus that acupuncture is safe when it is used by well-trained practitioners and more research is needed on this subject.
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