Local Healers Directory-Acupuncture

Acupuncture
is a technique of inserting and manipulating fine needles into specific points
on the body to relieve pain or for therapeutic purposes. The word acupuncture
comes from the Latin acus, "needle", and pungere, "to prick".
In Standard Mandarin, 針砭 (zhēn biān) (a related word, 針灸 (zhēn jiǔ),
refers to acupuncture together with moxibustion) According
to traditional Chinese medical theory, acupuncture points are
situated on meridians along which qi, the vital energy, flows. There is no
known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of
acupuncture points or meridians. Modern acupuncture texts present
them as ideas that are useful in clinical practice. According to the NIH
consensus statement on acupuncture, these traditional Chinese medical
concepts "are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical
information but continue to play an important role in the evaluation
of patients and the formulation of treatment in acupuncture."
The earliest written record that is available about acupuncture is
Huangdi Neijing (黄帝内经 or Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), which
suggests acupuncture originated in China and would explain why it is
most commonly associated with traditional Chinese medicine
(TCM). Different types of acupuncture (Classical Chinese, Japanese,
Tibetan, Vietnamese and Korean acupuncture) are practiced and taught
throughout the world. Acupuncture has been the subject of active
scientific research since the late 20th century but it remains
controversial among Western medical researchers and clinicians.
Due to the invasive nature of acupuncture treatments, it is difficult
to create studies that use proper scientific controls. Some scholarly reviews
have concluded that the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment can
be explained primarily through the placebo effect, while other studies
have suggested some efficacy in the treatment of specific conditions.
The World Health Organization published a review of controlled trials
using acupuncture and concluded it was effective for the treatment of 28
conditions and there was evidence to suggest it may be effective
for several dozen more. Additionally, the
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Medical Association
(AMA) and various government reports have studied and commented on
the efficacy (or lack thereof) of acupuncture. There is general agreemen
t that acupuncture is safe when administered by well-trained practitioners
using sterile needles, and that further research is appropriate
Category:
Acupuncture