Acupuncture derived from Latin, acus (needle) and punctura (to puncture). In modern times, Acupuncture is classified as a form of alternative medicine, though it is rapidly emerging as an independent therapeutic approach. It is commonly used for pain relief, though it is also used to treat a wide range of conditions.The majority of people seek out acupuncture for musculoskeletal problems, including low back pain shoulder stiffness, and knee pain, while others also undergo acupuncture for various clinical conditions like Asthma, Neuralgias, Migraine, Hair loss etc.

Acupuncture is the stimulation of specific acupuncture points along the ‘meridians’ of the body using thin needles. It can be associated with the application of heat, pressure, or laser light to these points. Traditionally, acupuncture is individualised and based on philosophy and intuition, but is supported by scientific research in modern times.

In modern acupuncture, a diagnostic consultation includes detailed case taking, taking the pulse on both arms and inspecting the tongue. Then the treatment sessions are designed according to the needs of the patient. A common treatment plan for a single complaint usually involves six to twelve treatments. A typical session entails lying still while approximately five to twenty needles are inserted; for the majority of cases, the needles will be left in place for ten to twenty minutes.

Acupuncturists generally practice acupuncture as an overall system of care, which includes using traditional diagnostic techniques, acupuncture needling, and other adjunctive treatments. Other forms of Complimentary treatments like Herbs, Homoeopathy, Naturopathy are also often used.

Traditional acupuncture involves needle insertion, moxibustion and cupping therapy. In traditional acupuncture, the acupuncturist decides which points to treat by observing and questioning the patient to make a diagnosis according to the tradition used.

ACUPUNCTURE IN INDIA

Acupuncture has been practised in India for thousands of years as a part of Ayurveda.It is common to see Indian villagers with earrings placed at specific points in the ear, to treat diseases elsewhere in the body.Many villagers also have scars on the abdomen, as a result of cauterization carried out to treat pain in the abdomen. This is similiar to moxibuxtion or heat treatment, which is used in Chinese medicine.

Asstated in this verse from Shusrut Samhita

Which means that to cure a disease , inducingthe method of puncturing, pressuring and heating the body is enough more thanany other systems of medicine.

In India, Ayurveda was a highly developed and effective system of medicine and Acupuncture was only used for those diseases that did not respond to Ayurveda treatment. As there were thousands of herbs that were effective for different diseases, Acupuncture was not as widely practised in India as it was in some parts of China. As explained earlier, in northwest China, very few herbs were available,so here traditional practitioners developed Acupuncture in to a highly advanced science.

With the onset of British rule and their promotion of the Western system of medicine, the art ofAcupuncture was largely lost. It was practised only by a few village doctors with a very basic knowledge of certain “effective points” which were passed down from father to son. It is only recently that there has been a resurgence of interest in Acupuncture in India, fuelled by the intense worldwide awareness of its efficacy in curing a multitude of ailments.

Science Finally Proves Meridians Exist

By Azriel ReShel on Wednesday April 20th, 2016

What the Merging of Spirituality and Science means for you?

“In every culture and in every medical tradition before ours, healing was accomplished by moving energy.” – Albert Szent- Gyorgyi, Biochemist and Nobel Prize Winner.

For centuries the ancient wisdom keepers and healers in several traditions had a keen understanding of the energetic body. The healing traditions from China, India, Japan and Tibet, as well as other countries all spoke of energy channels, meridians or nadis along which the vital energy flowed. Life was considered to be a bio-electrical and vibrational energy phenomenon and so health revolved around balancing energy through various means. Life existed because of life force and energy running through and animating the body, ensuring we can move, breathe, digest food, think ….

Energy channels

This vital life force or chi, is composed of two kinds of forces, yin and yang, and flows along a sophisticated network of energy pathways, or highways, circuiting the body. Over 2000 years ago ancient cultures knew of the existence of these energy channels. They were called ‘sen’ in Thailand, ‘nadis’ in India, ‘meridians’, ‘channels’ or ‘vessels’ in China and Japan, and ‘channels’ in Tibet. In India, where many eastern healing arts developed, there were said to be 72 000 nadis or energy pathways. Disease is believed to be a blockage in the energy flow of these channels. A range of healing traditions, including acupuncture, acupressure, massage and yoga, are founded on the principle of the existence of energy channels or pathways, known as meridians, or nadis, running around the body in an expansive network.

While it may seem a little airy fairy to some to consider the energy body while we have flesh and bone, at source we are an energy field, embedded into another energy field. Our bodies are electromagnetic in nature and science has measured these frequencies with advanced machines, like EKG’s and MRI scanning, for many years. Numerous studies demonstrate these energy pathways and points conduct electricity even when needles aren’t used. And the massage technique of Shiatsu have been found to stimulate the same energetic effects. Similarly, Qigong,Tai Chi and the postures of yoga, have been found to increase electrical conductance at acupoints, yet science never believed in the existence of meridians until now.

Scientific Research

Recently scientists at Seoul National University confirmed the existence of meridians, which they refer to as the “primovascular system.” They say that this system is a crucial part of the cardiovascular system.

Previously, North Korean scientist Kim Bong-Han proposed that he had found meridians in the early 1960’s. Dr Kim Bong- Han showed over 50 years ago that new tubular structures exist inside and outside of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, as well as on the surface of internal organs and under the dermis. He believed they were the traditional meridian lines. The meridians were called Bonghan ducts or channels, after his research, but now the existence of this system in various organs has been corroborated by further research. The current Korean researchers now believe the primovascular system is in fact the physical component of the Acupuncture Meridian System. And it has also been suggested that this system is involved in channelling the flow of energy and information relayed by biophotons (electromagnetic waves of light) and DNA.