Acupuncture
is an ancient Chinese method of treating ailments. The word acupuncture
is made of two parts – ‘acus’ – which means a
needle, and 'puncture'. This method provides relief from illness by
needle puncture of specific points on the body.
Reference to acupuncture as a modality of treatment can be found in
ancient Chinese literature when stone needles called ‘Bien’
were used for this purpose. With the advent of metal era needles of
copper and iron were used by practitioners of this form of medicines.
This form of alternative medicine is based on the concept of Qui or Chi
(pronounced ‘chee’). This is a vital energy force comparable
to ‘prana’ in Indian philosophy. According to traditional
Chinese concept the structure of the universe is explained on the basis
of Yin and Yang. They represent two aspects of energy, imbalance of
which results in a disease condition. ‘Yin’ stands for all
that is negative like peace endurance, weakness etc. And ‘Yang
stands for all positive influences like strength, warmth, sun, heaven,
male.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) states that the body is made up of
five hollow organs. These are represented on the body surface according
to their energy flow on ‘Meridians’. Specific points or
acupoints were charted out on these meridians. The stimulation of these
points by needles leads to a balance of energy forces and this is
responsible for cure of diseases caused by imbalance of body energy.
WHAT IS ACUPUNCTURE ?
This is an alternative system of medicine which treats ailments by
insertion of needles at acupoints. To be effective a specific sensation
called Quichi or Teichi should be elicited during needling. It is a
pleasant tingling sensation radiating along a specific direction.
Needling produces subjective sensations like pain, numbness, soreness,
heaviness and distension objective beneficial effects produced are:-
