Acupuncture

Acupuncture Overview

 

Seeing the Body Through a Different Perspective

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Acupuncture is based on classical Chinese medicine, a holistic system of understanding the inner workings of the human body and mind. It views the human body as intimately connected with the greater environment, since the same universal guiding force and energy (called Qi, pronounced “chee”) that governs the universe also governs our body and its organ systems. Yin-yang is the balanced and complementary duality of this vital force and energy, Qi, which in the human body guides and supports the molecules, cells, blood, tissues, and organs in their proper functions and collaborations with one another, keeping the body healthy and vibrant.

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From a broad and simplified view, when external or internal pathogenic factors cause a disruption in the proper function and flow of Qi and hinder the balanced interrelationships and harmony among the organ systems and body parts, eventually stagnation, deficiency, or disharmony of Qi results. What follows are body or organ dysfunction and dysregulation in the mutual organ-to-organ support and governance, which manifest as physical and/or mental symptoms and, eventually, diseases. The pathogenic or influential factors include seasonal and environmental factors, dietary and lifestyle factors, and psycho-emotional factors.

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Meridians and Acupuncture Points

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According to classical Chinese medicine, there are 14 primary meridians throughout the body, closely connected with organ systems in a sophisticated and remarkable network, through which Qi travels. These meridians traverse both the more superficial areas of the body as well as the deeper, inner parts of the body where the organs reside. Acupuncture points, which are located along the meridians as they traverse the superficial areas of the body, enable therapeutic access not only to the extremities and superficial parts of the body, but also to the internal organs and inner areas of the body via needling.

 

In acupuncture treatments, stimulation at acupuncture points activates local networks and accesses interconnected meridians, body parts, and organ systems throughout the body. In brief, acupuncture works by correcting disharmonized Qi energetics, engaging broader physiologic networks while enabling targeted adjustments of the affected body parts or organ systems, and ultimately restoring the balance and harmony among the body parts and organ systems to produce whole-person therapeutic effects. In this way, chronic conditions, symptoms, or pain syndromes that do not have a “cure” in conventional Western medicine often can be healed through acupuncture treatment.

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Repairing Disharmony and Restoring the Body's Innate Healing Capacity

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From the perspective of acupuncture and classical Chinese medicine, the dysregulations in Qi and organ systems occur before even any laboratory abnormalities can be detected in Western medicine. When abnormal tests results are found in Western medicine, such as the elevation of the serum creatinine reflecting chronic kidney disease, for example, the dysregulation in Qi and organ systems (in the kidney and other interrelated organic systems) had occurred long beforehand. So, while many people seek health care after symptoms and diseases have arisen, one of the powerful abilities of acupuncture and classical Chinese medicine is to treat dysfunctions and dysregulations in the body at an early stage, before even laboratory abnormalities are found, so that the body’s natural order and inner harmony can be restored.

 

It is important to realize that the body’s inherent capacity to heal itself is always present and working hard in the background, even if it may be weakened during times of disease or frailty, but disease occurs when there are barriers to healing. When we remove those barriers and guide the body to correct the dysfunctions and dysregulations at the Qi and organ-system levels, we allow the body’s innate healing ability to be restored and nurse our body back to health.

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East Meets West: East-West Convergence and Harmonization

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While classical Chinese medicine and Western allopathic medicine may use different terminologies and perspectives to describe how the body works, there may be more similarities and convergence of understandings as Western medicine continues to advance and evolve.

 

For example, in classical Chinese medicine, the kidney governs bones and is linked with the ear. Students and practitioners of Western medicine may question such a role for the kidneys from the Western scientific perspective, at first glance. However, if we pause and consider that the kidneys produce erythropoietin, a substance (discovered in the last century) that stimulates the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow; that people with chronic kidney disease develop so-called chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD); and that drugs which have a tendency to cause kidney damage also have a concurrent tendency to damage the ears (such as the class of antibiotics called aminoglycosides, an example of which is gentamicin, and the class of drugs called loop diuretics), then we realize the ancient wisdom of this holistic system of healing, which was developed before we knew anything about ATPs, reactive oxygen species, or Na⁺‑K⁺‑2Cl⁻ cotransporters in the kidneys and ears.

 

Similarly, the physiologic basis for Qi or acupuncture meridians and points may not have been readily explained from the Western anatomical perspective. However, researchers and experts in the field have discovered that fascia, a well-known anatomical component of the body, and fascial planes may correspond to acupuncture meridians, though there is likely much more to be learned about how meridians work.

 

At the same time, a partial explanation for Qi may lie in electromagnetic energy, which, while invisible and cannot be dissected or observed with the naked eye or even the microscope, is unquestionably ubiquitous throughout the body. We only need to be reminded that tools such as the electrocardiogram (EKG) or electroencephalogram (EEG), used on a regular basis in Western medicine, work by taking advantage of and measuring the electrical energy in the body. Researchers who injected fluorescent dyes into certain acupuncture points in healthy volunteers found that the dyes traced a path matching the corresponding meridian, and that the paths traced by the dyes did not correlate with blood vessels but fascia.

 

So, to simply disregard these perspectives just because we cannot fully explain them, yet, would be a disservice to our progress in understanding how the human body, or how nature, works. This is a lesson that the history of scientific progress has taught us time and again. There is still much we need to learn about the marvel of the human body, but we can take advantage of what we know to heal now!