Acupuncture Hub
Acupuncture explained
Acupuncture has its roots in Eastern philosophy. This treatment stimulates self-healing and promotes health. From an Eastern perspective, when energy is flowing freely around the body, balanced health is maintained. In China this energy is called Qi (pronounced chee) and flows in pathways around the body called channels.
When energy becomes blocked or stagnant, this energetic imbalance causes ill health. At certain points on the body, this energy can be manipulated, and the smooth energy flow restored. Most commonly Acupuncturists do this by placing fine needles in specific points at a particular depth. Energetic flow can also be restored using different techniques such as Moxibustion, Cupping & Gua Sha.
About Acupuncture
Below you can find interesting information about Acupuncture to help you understand your options and how they can help you.
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1. OVERVIEW OF ACUPUNCTURE TECHNIQUES
Acupuncture styles
Different styles of Acupuncture are practiced alone, or in combination. A fully qualified Acupuncturist will be able to talk about their training, the style or combination of styles they practise and the benefits and differences between each style.
In clinic I integrate different styles of Acupuncture to maximise treatment results. These include TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), Master Tung and Balance Method. I am also trained in Western Medical Acupuncture where the focus of treatment is on musculoskeletal dysfunction, chronic pain, dry needling and treating trigger & motor points to resolve pain and restore mobility.
What are the needles like?
The needles used are ultra-fine and very different to the hypodermic needles used by doctors and dentists. The needles are sterile, single-use and disposable. I am trained to know where is safe to needle and where must be avoided.
Needles are usually placed on the body, head and hands. The following videos explain common sensations felt during treatment and what the needles are like and where they are placed.
Acupuncture is evolving
In recent years Acupuncture techniques have been popularised by Western clinicians. The practice has been adapted and evolved to incorporate knowledge of Western anatomy, physiology and more recently Neuro-physiology. This is called Western Medical Acupuncture and sometimes ‘dry needling’. This style can be effective in treating many conditions.
Healthcare insurance schemes such as BUPA and PPP recognise Acupuncture treatment and may pay for a course of treatment. Please check the details of your policy with your health care provider.
2. HOW DOES ACUPUNCTURE WORK
Acupuncture & Messengers
Clinical studies show that Acupuncture works by releasing your body’s neurotransmitters and hormones. These include β-Endorphin which lessens the body’s perception of pain, Met-enkephalin which regulates nociception in the body and Oxytocin, a which modulates pain and relaxes and calms people. All of these natural chemicals act on the body’s pain receptors and transmit signals to the nervous system through the brain and spinal cord.
Strengthening the Mind-Body connection
In recent years Acupuncture techniques have been popularised by Western clinicians. The practice has been adapted and evolved to incorporate knowledge of Western anatomy, physiology and more recently Neuro-physiology. This is called Western Medical Acupuncture and sometimes ‘dry needling’. This style can be effective in treating many conditions.
Healthcare insurance schemes such as BUPA and PPP recognise Acupuncture treatment and may pay for a course of treatment. Please check the details of your policy with your health care provider.
Improved blood circulation
Acupuncture improves blood circulation, in the local area and in the brain. It does this without raising arterial blood pressure or pulse rate. One way it does this is to promote the release Adenosine. This neurotransmitter is a natural pain killer and also widens blood vessels and helps regulate heart rhythm. This is one of the ways Acupuncture is thought to be helpful when treating circulatory imbalances.
Acupuncture could be considered as a type of micro-trauma in the body. This is perfectly safe, but the sensing of this micro-trauma sends messages to your brain that healing needs to occur in your body, and the brain then releases the required chemicals to do this.
Acupuncture supports healing and repair
The improvement in circulation helps remove lactic acid and dead blood cells, and the replenished blood helps to restore fresh oxygen and nutrients to the tissues. Acupuncture has also been found to regulate immune function by normalising interferon levels and the immune response, speeding up the healing of infection and reducing systemic inflammation.
Additional treatment adjuncts such as Moxa, Infrared heat and Cupping also help to dilate local blood vessels and increase local blood flow which in turn helps to decrease areas of local inflammation and swelling.
Your body’s natural energy charge
There is an electric charge (piezoelectric) created in every tissue and cell of the body. This natural charge communicates with different body systems: the organs, the bones and the muscles. This charge (which can also be called energy) runs freely through the fascia – the connective tissue found everywhere in the body.
Piezoelectric charge does not move ‘across’ tissues but instead ‘in between’ the tissues. Therefore it moves in and through the spaces between our different body systems. By moving this way the piezoelectric charge is able to effect different areas of the body, different body systems and organ systems simultaneously.
There are many similarities between Qi and piezoelectric charge. Qi can’t be seen, but it moves around the body and you can feel it and experience the effects of it. This is similar to piezoelectric charge moving in between tissues and through the body and may explain why physical Acupuncture channels have yet to be detected and why needling one area of the body creates a healing response in a different area.
For further information on how Acupuncture works I encourage you to read “The Spark in the Machine” by Dr. Daniel Keown.
3. HISTORY OF ACUPUNCTURE
Roots of Acupuncture
People wonder how old Acupuncture is? Records for the practice of Acupuncture date back many years, but the exact date is not still known. One of the most important writings on Acupuncture; The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, dates back to the 2nd Century BC. However, there is evidence of Acupuncture being even older than this; bone acupuncture needles have been found which pre-date these writings by around 1000 years!1
There was also an interesting finding of an ice mummy in Switzerland. The mummy had tattoos on his legs in the same location as Acupuncture points used to treat arthritis of the lower back. Investigation with CT scan confirmed the mummy did in fact suffer from arthritis of the lower back! The mummy was carbon dated to 3200BC.2
Modernising Acupuncture
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a system of medicine created in China at the time of Chairman Mao in the 1950s. The teachings and practices of five different branches of the Taoist healing arts were documented, systemized, and refined into a ‘new’ system of medicine. These include:
- Acupuncture
- Chinese Herbal Medicine
- Tui Na (Chinese massage)
- Medical Qigong
- Chinese Dietary & Lifestyle advice
The creators of TCM were predominantly Herbal scholars. Various lineages and older styles of Acupuncture were never documented and instead passed down verbally through generations of doctors within families. Therefore, the practices were not included in TCM theory.
By the 1950s these older Acupuncture lineages had travelled from China into other countries such as Japan, Taiwan and Korea. They developed into various styles of Acupuncture and these theories and techniques are now being taught and practiced throughout the world.
4. ACUPUNCTURE RESEARCH
Where to Find Acupuncture Evidence
Evidence on how and why Acupuncture works is now well documented. There is now understanding and evidence of the physiological mechanisms involved during and after acupuncture. There are also many studies and clinical trials demonstrating conditions Acupuncture can help treat.
Below are links to some Acupuncture organisation that provide research. Please get in touch if there are specific conditions or mechanisms you are interested in, as I am happy to advise which organisations and databases may have the information you are looking for.
Videos
Is Acupuncture Painful?
Where do the needles go?
Research organisations
Footnotes
1 & 2 The Spark in the Machine: How the Science of Acupuncture Explains the Mysteries of Western Medicine, 20 Mar 2014, by Dr. Daniel Keown MBChB MCEM LicAc
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