Acupuncture, acupuncture, or Zhenjiu therapy, is a branch of traditional Chinese medicine that has existed for over two thousand years. Since the end of the 20th century, it has become popular in the West, where it is considered an offshoot of alternative medicine.
Adherents of acupuncture believe that the vital energy qi circulates through the human body. In Chinese philosophy, this is the name of any substance that supports life: blood, air, bile, water.
When a person is sick, the qi circulation is disrupted. To restore the flow of vital energy and recover, it is necessary to stimulate specific points on the body. This is done with special thin needles.
What is treated with acupuncture?
In Chinese tradition, acupuncture is believed to cure almost everything. However, most often acupuncture is used to relieve chronic pain, migraine and fibromyalgia, arthritis, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, to eliminate nausea and vomiting.
What does the treatment look like?
Regardless of what the patient is sick with, the treatment always goes about the same. The patient lies down on the couch, undresses. The doctor inserts thin needles into special points on the body.
The needles can conduct an electric current, they can also be burned with wormwood mini-cigarettes. To be cured, the patient must undergo several sessions of acupuncture.
“Magic” acupuncture points
In the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine, the concepts of physical and mental health are not accepted. However, attempts to explain and differentiate (separate) the effectiveness of acupuncture have been made for a long time.
Types of methodology
The techniques of the Japanese have some differences from the traditional zhen-jiu. For example, their technique involves the use of thinner needles.
During the procedure, the needle does not pierce the skin, but only touches its surface. The Japanese technique has also become widespread in the West.
So, its subspecies are known even in the USA: among them is the Kiiko Matsumoto technique, in which, in addition to acupuncture, specialists perform active palpation of the body to eliminate disharmony.
Acupuncture in Taiwan
Acupuncture is also popular in Taiwan. One of the popularizers of this treatment was the master Tung Chin Chan. According to his teachings, all the important points of the body are concentrated on the hands, feet, ears and scalp.
You can achieve a positive effect by stimulating just a few main areas. Due to its relative simplicity, the Tun acupuncture technique is popular, but due to the difficulty of transferring knowledge from teacher to student, it is not easy to find a qualified master of this school.
Indications for acupuncture therapy
Reflexology is used for prevention and in the complex therapy of many diseases. At the same time, special attention is paid to disorders of the cardiovascular, nervous, digestive, musculoskeletal systems.
So, together with other procedures, reflexology can help with a cut of the facial nerve, diseases of the nervous system, and osteochondrosis. By targeting specific pressure relief points, an acupuncturist will assist in the treatment of hypertension. Acupuncture can also complement spinal herniation therapy and speed up recovery.
Patients with a similar diagnosis will benefit from such properties of acupuncture as relieving pain, eliminating muscle spasm and improving blood circulation.
These properties of acupuncture are also relevant for muscle pain caused by sprains and other types of injuries. Due to the positive effect of acupuncture in violation of the digestive system, you can reduce the intake and reduce the dosage of potent drugs.
Programs to reduce nicotine addiction and overweight, treat depressive conditions, increased swelling and hormonal imbalances with the help of acupuncture are popular.
Contraindications and possible harm
Despite the fact that acupuncture is used in many clinics in the East and West, it is still not always guaranteed to cure all diseases. In addition, like any medical method of exposure, acupuncture has its own absolute and relative contraindications.
For example, a specialist will refuse to conduct a session if the patient has any infection, fever, oncology, clotting disorders and other blood diseases, mental disorders, alcohol and drug addiction.
This technique cannot be used in acute conditions after trauma. Pregnant women in the first and third trimester should also refrain from acupuncture, as well as children under seven years of age.
Guaranteed safe reflexology can only be called if the procedure is carried out by a certified and at the same time experienced specialist who thoroughly knows all the points and their correct combinations when exposed. It is important that the first session is carried out only after the final statement of a specific diagnosis.
Has anyone proven the effectiveness of acupuncture?
Most scientific papers on acupuncture have conflicting conclusions. It helps some people, it doesn’t help others.To test the effectiveness of acupuncture, scientists have developed a method of fake acupuncture.
Its essence lies in the fact that the doctor stimulates not acupuncture points, but whatever, or uses needles that do not pass under the skin.
Acupuncture treatment for pain: systematic review of randomized clinical trials with acupuncture, placebo acupuncture, and no acupuncture groups has proven that fake acupuncture relieves chronic back pain and nausea as well as real.
It also relieves neck and headaches and osteoarthritis of the knees. Again, both the real method and the fake one help. This allows us to believe that the effectiveness of treatment depends to a greater extent on our faith in it.