Acupressure/Acupuncture
cupuncture and acupressure are part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that treats the energy lines running through the body. By stimulating the energy lines or meridians the body is provoked to correct and heal itself. As Letha Hadady writes in Asian Health Secrets, talking about the human body without recognizing the energy meridians is like describing a television set without mentioning electricity!
History of the Healing Form
The underlying principles of meridian therapy were understood in The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, which was written more than 4,000 years ago. Oriental medicine is empirical, that is, based upon observation and recorded study. Chinese healers noticed that various illnesses affected different points on the body. They recorded these points and noted that some points seemed related to others. When related points were connected diagrammatically, they formed twelve pathways or meridians on each half of the body. The doctors theorized that blockage at any point along a pathway could affect other points on the same pathway. Thus, releasing blockage on the kidney meridian also relieves pain in the knee because they are on the same pathway.
The Chinese introduced acupuncture to Japan more than a thousand years ago where is has been practiced ever since. In the eighteenth century a new technique evolved in Japan combining the acupuncture points with oriental massage in a treatment without needles. The new technique of acupressure later became known as shiatsu. Although the terms shiatsu and acupressure are often used interchangeably, there are distinctions between the two therapies.
In the late 1940s, Reinhard Voll, a German medical doctor, studied Chinese acupuncture meridian system. He reasoned that if acupuncture theory was correct and channels of energy did run throughout the body coming to the skin's surface at various "points", there should be a way to measure the electrical conductivity. Dr. Voll constructed a device to measure the electrical conductivity of acupuncture points on the skin using a stylus-shaped electrode made of brass, basically an ohmmeter. This electrodermal screening test (EDS) measures the body's ability to conduct energy. The physician-inventor determined the "normal" range of electrical conductivity in healthy patients and found that major disturbances in the body (dis-ease) caused a downward drop from the "normal" readings. He also discovered that medicines placed in the proximity of the patient could change acupuncture point readings thus providing a test of the value of a medication to the condition. EDS is a noninvasive method of pinpointing health problems and possible remedies, combining the arts of acupuncture and homeopathy. It is used by an estimated 100,000 medical doctors and healthcare professionals worldwide.
In the mid 1990s German and Japanese medical scientists collaborated to build an instrument that measures the energy current on the body's meridians.
Meridian therapies have been known to American medical practitioners since the 1890s but were ignored by the American medical establishment until the 1970s. The understanding of the body in TCM is unrelated to the approach to medicine taken by orthodox American medicine. The approach of American MDs is to apply a drug or therapy that directly attacks the problem. Confronted with an infection, the MD will prescribe an antibiotic known to be effective for that ailment. The Chinese approach is to work indirectly by encouraging the body to rectify the problem; the Chinese emphasize preserving health and preventing disease. Acupuncture was introduced to most Americans in 1971 when New York Times reporter James Reston wrote a front-page story of his successful treatment for pain after suffering appendicitis while in Beijing.
What to Expect
On your first visit to an acupuncturist—who may be an MD or DO with specialized training or an acupuncture specialist—you will complete a medical history form and discuss your particular symptoms. A TCM physician will take three pulse ratings on each wrist and examine your tongue to determine your general condition.
For the acupuncture treatment you may sit in a chair or lay down on a table-bench depending upon location of the meridians to be treated. The needles (sterile, disposable) are very thin and flexible; usually several needles are applied for 15 to 45 minutes. Most patients experience little or no sensation with the treatment; most find the treatment relaxing and may fall asleep. The practitioner may use moxibustion, burning of herbs, on the needles to hasten healing.
In general, treatments are taken once or twice a week until therapeutic results are felt. Where the condition being treated was years in developing, significant improvement may take several weeks. Some patients experience rapid improvement after just a few treatments. Others have a monthly treatment for health maintenance.
An estimated 13,000 licensed and certified acupuncturists practice in the U.S. Most states allow MDs to perform this procedure, with minimal training of 100 to 200 hours. Licensing requirements vary widely between states; get a referral from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) in Alexandria, VA, or the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture in Los Angeles. Acupressure, which includes the treatment of hands and feet in Reflexology, is performed by healthcare professionals, and with a good guidebook can be self-administered.
Health Benefits
In Asia acupuncture is used to aid healing for most health conditions. Its primary use in the U.S. has been, to date, to relieve chronic pain caused by such ailments as arthritis, headache, back pain, injuries. It is also most helpful for asthma and disorders of the autonomic nervous system, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).
Experiences
Shortly after overcoming a bout with bronchitis, John, 57, began in mid January to have breathing problems and increased stomach distress with heartburn, gas, bloating, and pain. Over the weeks these grew progressively worse with shortness of breath, stomach cramps, inability to sleep, and food allergies. His response was to increase consumption of OTC antacids and take the prescription drug for allergies, Zantac®.
After 8 to 10 weeks serious, debilitating bouts of nonstop production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach began to occur and lasted 12 to 14 hours at a time. This caused unbearable acid pain in the upper esophagus and stomach; the acid dispersed through the esophagus into the lungs making breathing difficult. OTC antacids were ineffective. His diet had been sensible prior to this illness, but it was adjusted daily as needed. Reflexology, massaging points related to the stomach and lungs, brought some relief as did the homeopathic medicine Carbo Vegetabalis. A selection of Chinese herbs brewed in a tea (including orange peel) gave some relief, but nothing fully stopped the gas/acid attacks. This was acute. After one week of intermittent and unpredictable 12-hour bouts of acid production, his MD prescribed 20mg Prilosec®. With this drug the acid production ceased in 20 minutes. Prilosec®, Nexium®, and Prevacid® are proton pump inhibitors and block the stomach's production of hydrochloric acid. Without hydrochloric acid the body cannot absorb essential nutrients, which, logically, will lead to long-term harm. At this time blocking acid production was necessary for survival, but he set out to find true healing.
Except when trigger foods set off acid production (now Reflexology and Carbo effectively relieved outbursts when using Prilosec® intermittently due to side-effects ), the stomach was manageable, but lung damage had evolved into asthma making climbing stairs or carrying groceries difficult. An asthma specialist was consulted and prescribed the following: Advair® (used one week, had allergic reaction); Singular® (caused severe stomach cramps, headache, dizziness), Allergra® (developed rash and flu symptoms, dropped after 3 weeks), Rhinocort® (developed headaches and dizziness, used one week). For asthma, John successfully used Intal® for two months without any side effects until acupuncture ended the need for medication.
He resumed the Chinese herbal teas. On the advice of a TCM physician that the acid production is a disorder of the autonomic nervous system, he decided to seek acupuncture treatment the first week of July. On the first visit needles were inserted on the top of his head, on both sides of the spine at the base of the neck, the ears, stomach, and calves just below the knee; moxibustion was used, and the treatment was an hour long. Improvement was immediate. With the second treatment the following week, John was able to quit all pharmaceutical medications. Weekly treatments continued, and no more acid reflux occurred. Lung capacity had improved to about 70 percent so that he could play golf by the middle of August; a month later he was hiking, albeit cautiously, through Pacific Northwest mountains. Supplementing the acupuncture therapy, Reflexology is regularly done at home for both stomach and lung discomfort, and a dose of Carbo Vegetabalis taken at any sign of stomach upset provides almost instant relief. The orange peel tea has aided healing of the esophagus, and foods that were triggers for acid production four months earlier are back on the menu.
