Acupuncture has been used in the Far East to restore, promote and maintain good health for over 2,500 years. The first needles were made from stone, and then later from bronze, gold and silver. The first medical account of acupuncture was The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine which dates from about 300 BC.
Acupuncture is rooted in the Daoist philosophy of change, growth, balance and harmony, and The Yellow Emperor's Classic outlines the principles of natural law and the movements of life - yin and yang, the five elements, the organ system and the meridian network along which acupuncture points are located. These records also contain details of pathology and physiology which some 2,000 years later provide the theoretical foundation for acupuncture today. Acupuncture practice has gradually developed and been refined by masters such as the famous Chinese herbalist Li Shi Zen who, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), published his fifty-volume Compendium of Materia Medica, as well as a study of the Pulse and the Extraordinary Meridians.
Acupuncture experienced a great resurgence of interest in China after the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949. Although it had always remained popular in rural communities, there had been a considerable move towards western ideas and medicine from the eighteenth century onwards. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) the value of traditional Chinese medicine was once again officially recognized and it was given new opportunities to develop. Today acupuncture is used far more extensively in China than in the West in a hospital-based system with facilities for treating acute as well as chronic cases. The national policy is to pursue both systems side by side, with extensive clinical research being undertaken to establish best practice.
Acupuncture was not the subject of serious study in Britain until the late 1950s. Links were made either through Europe, to where many Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese master practitioners had moved, or through direct contact with teachers and schools in Taiwan, Korea and elsewhere. The early students of acupuncture were often those already practicing natural medicines - osteopaths, homeopaths and naturopaths. For many of them traditional Chinese medicine seemed to recognize and formalise many of the concepts they had uncovered through their own experience as practitioners. For the next twenty years further study of the ancient texts, clinical effect on various diseases, acupuncture anaesthesia and acupuncture's effect on the internal organs was carried out.
Although acupuncture has become modernised, it will never lose its connection to a philosophy established thousands of years ago.
There has been a steady increase in the number of professionally trained acupuncturists in the UK, from just a handful of qualified practitioners in the 1970s to over 2,800 registered with the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) in 2007.
Description and benefits of Acupuncture
Acupuncture is one of the more popular complementary therapies practiced. Relatively painless, natural technique it’s a safe and effective natural form of Chinese alternative medicine used to treat many conditions, by the gentle insertion and stimulation of sterile, disposable, small, hair-width needles placed at precise strategic points on the body. It is thought these points represent different parts/organs of the body.
Acupuncture is a holistic approach which is based on the treatment of all the bodies systems as it works directly with the body’s energy or qi, as acupuncture practitioners believe that all illnesses are a result of the natural flow of energy through the body becoming stuck, depleted or weakened and thus making the individual susceptible to illness. By the rebalancing of qi through treatment of specific acu-points related to symptoms or illness present, the treatment is an effective way of removing these energy obstructions. The treatment is a pleasurable and pain-free experience as acupuncture has been proven to stimulate and release opiate-like hormones and induce a state of relaxation, balance and healing.
Through clinical trials, acupuncture has been proven effective in treating various medical conditions and its use has been expanded into conventional medicine practices. Acupuncture can be beneficial when used alongside conventional medicine treatments for both acute and chronic disease.
With certain health conditions, it is effective enough to reduce the need to take drugs to control pain or symptoms.
The benefits of acupuncture are more than just relief from a particular condition as acupuncture is used in the treatment of many different physical, emotional and mental health conditions. Some of the health conditions that can benefit from acupuncture include:
- Respiratory disorders; sinusitis, asthma, bronchitis, colds and flu.
- Eye disorders; cataracts, conjunctivitis and nearsightedness.
- Neurological and musculoskeletal disorders; frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, muscle spasms, tremors, arthritis, back pain, sciatica, paralysis following a stroke, urinary incontinence or retention and osteoarthritis.
- Emotional or psychological disorders: phobias, eating disorders, anxiety, obsessive behavior and smoking, alcohol, drugs or food addictions.
- Skeletal disorders; fractures, arthritis.
- Acupuncture has been proved to be effective in pregnancy management and for the relief of pain in childbirth.
- It strengthens the immune system to help prevent or fight common colds, influenza, increase energy levels and enhance the sense of overall wellbeing.
- Post-surgical patients benefit as acupuncture can reduce nausea and vomiting, and patients find that a treatment is effective in increasing energy, recovery from injuries faster, decreased symptoms of stress, improved circulation and brings a sense of vitality.
Acupuncture is a safe treatment for all.
Governing bodies of Acupuncture
The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) is a governing body for the acupuncture profession.
The British Medical Acupuncture Society (BMAS) is a governing body for the practice of medical Acupuncture.
The Acupuncture Society (AcS) is a professional body of acupuncture practitioners and has many society abbreviations depending on the membership status.
I.e. MAcS - Member of The Acupuncture Society,
MAcSAp - Acupressure Member of The Acupuncture Society.
