What is Acupuncture?
A modern understanding
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine practice that involves stimulating specific points on the body using techniques such as laser therapy, micro-current, and fine, sterile needles. You might hear your acupuncturist mention that your condition is due to a blockage of qi (and blood), and that acupuncture aims to restore health by balancing the body’s qi flow. But what does this really mean?
Demystifying Qi
Qi is a concept often loosely translated as “energy,” but this isn’t entirely accurate. In traditional Chinese medicine, qi represents bodily functions. A “blockage of qi” is best understood as a functional disruption within the body. Thus, balancing qi refers to restoring and harmonising these bodily functions.
Interestingly, much of the misunderstanding surrounding qi comes from Soulie de Morant, a Frenchman who lived in China from 1901 to 1917. He played a pivotal role in introducing acupuncture to the West and advocating for Chinese medicine in France.
The Role of Acupuncture in Health
Acupuncture has been a vital part of Chinese medicine for thousands of years. It is often used in combination with herbal medicine and other practices to treat various health conditions. Today, acupuncture is the most thoroughly researched natural therapy, gaining acceptance and popularity worldwide.
Acupuncture in Modern Healthcare
Its growing acceptance is reflected in its integration into treatment guidelines, health insurance policies and hospitals. Remarkably, the US military has embraced it, training medics in battlefield acupuncture for rapid pain relief.
What conditions can acupuncture help with?
Here are some of the conditions that acupuncture has been shown to help with:
- Pain: Acupuncture is commonly used to treat various types of pain, including chronic pain, back pain, neck pain, and headaches.
- Anxiety and depression: Acupuncture has been found to help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, leaving you feeling more relaxed and balanced.
- Insomnia: This time-tested natural therapy may help improve sleep quality and reduce insomnia.
- Digestive problems: If you struggle with digestive issues, acupuncture has been shown to help with problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), nausea, and vomiting.
- Women’s health: Acupuncture has been found to be effective in reducing menstrual cramps and other gynecological issues such as endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).
- Allergies, hayfever and asthma: this natural treatment may help reduce the severity and frequency of allergic reactions and asthma attacks.
- Infertility: Acupuncture may help improve fertility in both men and women.
Remember, acupuncture is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and often should be a part of a comprehensive integrative approach. It’s important to speak with a qualified acupuncturist to determine the best avenue for you. And if you’re looking for a natural and holistic way to improve your health and wellness, acupuncture may be just what you need!
Below is an expanded list of conditions recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for which acupuncture may be considered as a treatment option
Acupuncture can help treat a wide range of conditions. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a book in 2002 called “Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials,” which summarized the conditions that have been shown to benefit from this treatment in various studies. While some academics argue that this document may be outdated, we believe that the age of a study doesn’t necessarily invalidate its findings, especially if there are no newer, higher-quality studies available.
1. Diseases for which acupuncture may be considered mainstream treatment:
(Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture has been proved through controlled trials-to be an effective treatment)
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- Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy
- Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
- Biliary colic
- Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
- Dysentery, acute bacillary
- Dysmenorrhea, primary
- Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)
- Facial Pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
- Headache
- Hypertension, essential
- Hypotension, primary
- Induction of labour
- Knee Pain
- Leukopenia
- Low back Pain
- Malposition of fetus, correction of
- Morning sickness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Neck Pain
- Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
- Periarthritis of shoulder
- Postoperative Pain
- Renal colic
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sciatica
- Sprain
- Stroke
- Tennis elbow
2. Diseases for which it is effective, but further proof is needed to include it into mainstream healthcare:
(diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed)
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- Abdominal Pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
- Acne vulgaris
- Alcohol dependence and detoxification
- Bell’s palsy
- Bronchial asthma
- Cancer Pain
- Cardiac neurosis
- Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation
- Cholelithiasis
- Competition stress syndrome
- Craniocerebral injury, closed
- Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent
- Earache
- Epidemic haemorrhagic fever
- Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease)
- Eye Pain due to subconjunctival injection
- Female infertility
- Facial spasm
- Female urethral syndrome
- Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
- Gastrokinetic disturbance
- Gouty arthritis
- Hepatitis B virus carrier status
- Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
- Hyperlipaemia
- Hypo-ovarianism
- Insomnia
- Labour Pain
- Lactation, deficiency
- Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic
- Ménière disease
- Neuralgia, post-herpetic
- Neurodermatitis
- Obesity
- Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
- Osteoarthritis
- Pain due to endoscopic examination
- Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein-Leventhal syndrome)
- Postextubation in children
- Postoperative convalescence
- Premenstrual syndrome
- Prostatitis, chronic
- Pruritus
- Radicular and pseudoradicular Pain syndrome
- Raynaud syndrome, primary
- Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection
- Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Retention of urine, traumatic
- Schizophrenia
- Sialism, drug-induced
- Sjögren syndrome
- Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
- Spine Pain, acute
- Stiff neck
- Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
- Tietze syndrome
- Tobacco dependence
- Tourette syndrome
- Ulcerative colitis, chronic
- Urolithiasis
- Vascular dementia
- Whooping cough (pertussis)
3. Diseases for which acu is worth trying, because the treatment by western medicine is difficult:
(Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which there are only individual controlled trials reporting some therapeutic effects, but for which acupuncture is worth trying because treatment by conventional and other therapies is difficult)
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- Chloasma
- Choroidopathy, central serous
- Colour blindness
- Deafness
- Hypophrenia
- Irritable colon syndrome
- Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury
- Pulmonary heart disease, chronic
- Small airway obstruction
4. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture may be tried provided the practitioner has special modern medical knowledge and adequate monitoring equipment:
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- Breathlessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Coma
- Convulsions in infants
- Coronary heart disease (angina pectoris)
- Diarrhoea in infants and young children
- Encephalitis, viral, in children, late stage
- Paralysis, progressive bulbar and pseudobulbar
Reference: World Health Organisation: Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials 2002