Acupuncture for Dummies – A quick overview of its history and inner workings

Acupuncture is not, nor has it ever been, a complete system of medicine or healing in its own right. It is one of the key modalities in the system of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the “left hand” of a true Chinese Medical Doctor. Over 25 years ago, the World Health Organization drew up a list of over 40 diseases for which acupuncture is appropriate therapy. This list consists of diseases ranging from depression to tinnitus, infertility to stroke, as well as immune system strengthening and addiction cessation.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the inner workings of our bodies are seen as a delicate balance by the Chinese philosophical concepts of yin and yang – two opposing, yet inseparable forces. This concept is best compared to our understanding of day and night, one continually becoming the other, depending on the other for definition. Nighttime grows out of daytime and slowly overtakes it. Then, as daytime approaches, the power of nighttime lessens until daytime takes over the night. This continuous and inevitable cycle is the same as the yin and yang phenomena of TCM. Health is achieved by maintaining harmony between opposing forces in the natural world, therefore, by keeping body in a “balanced state.” Any disturbance of this natural equilibrium results in blockage to the flow of Qi and the onset of disease.

The Chinese believe that the practice of acupuncture began during the Stone Age where stone knives or other sharp edged tools, described by the Chinese character “Bian”, were used to puncture and drain abscesses. The modern Chinese character “Bi”, which represents a disease or pain, is almost certainly derived from the use of “Bian” stones for the treatment of painful complaints. Throughout time, these “Bian” stones were refined and replaced with metal needles. Dating back to 113 B.C., these metal needles took the form of the “Classical Nine Needles”, comprising of an arrowhead needle for superficial pricking, a round needle for massaging, a blunt needle for palpating, a three edged needle for puncturing, a sword-like needle for draining abscesses, a sharp needle for rapid pricking and the most common one used today – “ the filliform needle for puncturing acupuncture points or painful areas of the body.

Initially, there were no “acupuncture points” on the body. Acupuncture points are without doubt, the end product of millions of detailed clinical experiences and observations. The uses of these specific points on the body have shown exceptional value in treating particular diseases. Over time, acupuncture points were grouped into a system of channels also referred to as meridians.

Meridian, a word borrowed from geography which indicates a thin line joining a series of ordered points, is used by the Chinese as channels in which vital energy circulates throughout the body. There are 12 main meridians in the body, one assigned to each of the five major organs – “ the lung, liver, kidney, heart and stomach, the six bowels – “ the gallbladder, small intestine, large intestine, bladder, san jiao, and the heart protector. Though the meridians cannot be seen with the human eye, research by Western doctors and scientists have verified that these channels, ranging from 20-50 millimicrons in diameter, carry an electro-magnetic field. When needles or pressure is applied to specific areas, they act as conductors from the external environment which replenish the body’s energy that has been depleted by disease or injury.

It is clear that the Chinese have developed a highly complex and sophisticated system of healing. Treatments are tailored specifically for the individual and through diagnostic principles and systems of Chinese Medicine; practitioners are able to evaluate the root of the imbalance and work to bring the body back to a harmonious state. Unlike Western medicine, which shuns disease by treating the symptoms at hand, the aspect which makes Traditional Chinese Medicine so powerful and successful is that it focuses on the healing the root and actual cause of the disease. With over 5,000 years of experience, it is no wonder that Traditional Chinese Medicine has been adopted within both Western and Eastern cultures to such a degree.

Dr. Mable Cheung is amongst a handful of licensed & practicing Acupuncturists and one of the firsts to introduce both Cosmetic & Cellulite Acupuncture. She is also a 3rd generation Chinese Medical Doctor at Cheung’s Trading Company Limited. For more information, feel free to contact her at 519-252-9228 or at http://www.cheungstrading.com