Acupuncture points are central to the practice of acupuncture. Numbered sequentially from 1 to 41 (large points), and from 1 to 33 (small points), they are studied by licensed acupuncturists to effectively treat their patients. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a system of 20 lines connecting acupoints or meridians through which qi flows. According to TCM, all diseases are a result of disruptions in the flow of this qi or life force.
One class of acupuncture points is the Five Transporting Points System, which uses the analogy of rivers and points to describe the system of meridians and acupuncture points. When there is a free flow qi through this system, there is no pain; when there is pain, there is a disruption in the system's flow. There are more than 360 stimulation or acupuncture points in the meridians, and it is within these points that acupuncture needles are inserted during an acupuncture treatment session.
Because of their fear of needles, many people are afraid to try acupuncture. Luckily, the insertion of these hair-thin needles along acupuncture points is most often painless. And during the few times when discomfort is experienced, the sensation is akin to a mosquito bite and is far less painful than receiving an injection or donating blood.
Where exactly do the meridians exist? What paths do they take throughout the body? While TCM has already mapped them out, Western science is still trying to play catchup with its own set of tools. The challenge lies, however, in the subtlety of this life force energy, which prevents Western tools from being able to reliably detect it yet. Westerners have tried mapping the meridians to blood or nerve pathways with little success. Some now believe that the connective tissues in the body may hold the meridians.
However, Western scientists have gathered data suggesting acupuncture points are strategic conductors of electromagnetic signals. The Gate Theory supposes that pain signals must pass through high traffic "gates" as they move from an area of pain or injury through the spinal cord and to the brain. Like streets or freeways, there is a limited to the amount of traffic or signals that these gates can carry.
To continue with the streets and alleys metaphor, some signals are given a higher clearance than normal signals such as pain. These higher priority/clearance are like emergency vehicles - ambulances, police cars, fire trucks - which supersede the slower, lower priority signals in their quest to reach the brain. These super signals may even bump the slower signals off the road altogether, preventing them from ever reaching the brain. Acupuncture may generate these priority signals, which crowd out pain signals because of the limited throughput of the nerves. The acupuncture signals may not only diminish the speed and severity of the pain signals, they may actually prevent them from being received by the brain at all. Acupuncture may also trigger the release of chemicals and hormones which reduce pain, and they may also alert the immune system to pay special attention to certain part of the body's roads.
Experimental and clinical evidence has found that acupuncture not only inhibits pain but also has a direct effect on circulation, blood pressure, blood cell production, and the immune system. It is believed that acupuncture points stimulate the brain and spinal cord to release chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord and brain, altering brain chemistry in a positive way.
Does acupuncture work through the body's bio-electric field? Will the meridians one day be mapped by Western tools? Whatever the answer, and whenever Western medicine finally validates the medical knowledge of TCM, there is more than sufficient evidence to show that acupuncture is as effective as Western medicine in relieving many ills and diseases. Does acupuncture do this by actually harmonizing the balance of yin and yang in the body, as TCM suggests, or by some other means? Regardless of the final answer, acupuncture produces amazing results. - 14130
One class of acupuncture points is the Five Transporting Points System, which uses the analogy of rivers and points to describe the system of meridians and acupuncture points. When there is a free flow qi through this system, there is no pain; when there is pain, there is a disruption in the system's flow. There are more than 360 stimulation or acupuncture points in the meridians, and it is within these points that acupuncture needles are inserted during an acupuncture treatment session.
Because of their fear of needles, many people are afraid to try acupuncture. Luckily, the insertion of these hair-thin needles along acupuncture points is most often painless. And during the few times when discomfort is experienced, the sensation is akin to a mosquito bite and is far less painful than receiving an injection or donating blood.
Where exactly do the meridians exist? What paths do they take throughout the body? While TCM has already mapped them out, Western science is still trying to play catchup with its own set of tools. The challenge lies, however, in the subtlety of this life force energy, which prevents Western tools from being able to reliably detect it yet. Westerners have tried mapping the meridians to blood or nerve pathways with little success. Some now believe that the connective tissues in the body may hold the meridians.
However, Western scientists have gathered data suggesting acupuncture points are strategic conductors of electromagnetic signals. The Gate Theory supposes that pain signals must pass through high traffic "gates" as they move from an area of pain or injury through the spinal cord and to the brain. Like streets or freeways, there is a limited to the amount of traffic or signals that these gates can carry.
To continue with the streets and alleys metaphor, some signals are given a higher clearance than normal signals such as pain. These higher priority/clearance are like emergency vehicles - ambulances, police cars, fire trucks - which supersede the slower, lower priority signals in their quest to reach the brain. These super signals may even bump the slower signals off the road altogether, preventing them from ever reaching the brain. Acupuncture may generate these priority signals, which crowd out pain signals because of the limited throughput of the nerves. The acupuncture signals may not only diminish the speed and severity of the pain signals, they may actually prevent them from being received by the brain at all. Acupuncture may also trigger the release of chemicals and hormones which reduce pain, and they may also alert the immune system to pay special attention to certain part of the body's roads.
Experimental and clinical evidence has found that acupuncture not only inhibits pain but also has a direct effect on circulation, blood pressure, blood cell production, and the immune system. It is believed that acupuncture points stimulate the brain and spinal cord to release chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord and brain, altering brain chemistry in a positive way.
Does acupuncture work through the body's bio-electric field? Will the meridians one day be mapped by Western tools? Whatever the answer, and whenever Western medicine finally validates the medical knowledge of TCM, there is more than sufficient evidence to show that acupuncture is as effective as Western medicine in relieving many ills and diseases. Does acupuncture do this by actually harmonizing the balance of yin and yang in the body, as TCM suggests, or by some other means? Regardless of the final answer, acupuncture produces amazing results. - 14130
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