Acupuncture: Working to restore life energy

By Ellen Mahoney

      The first time I tried acupuncture, I was at the end of my rope with a health problem. I'd gone to see the Broadway production of "Lion King" (lots of visual movement and loud music) with my family and enjoyed the show tremendously until I walked out to the lobby. Suddenly all the musical magic turned into a spinning nightmare as I dove into a vertigo that wound up staying with me for months.

      After my inner ears were determined normal, and an MRI showed everything in my brain looked okay, I didn't know what to do to relieve the annoying dizzy feeling I had. A friend suggested acupuncture and, willing to find relief, I decided to give it a go. I didn't know what to expect, but after my first treatment I felt encouraged. Although my vertigo didn't immediately disappear after one treatment-the problem usually requires repeated visits-it did eventually fade. I later used acupuncture to help with oral surgery and, over time, I have found the treatments to be comfortable, gentle, even painless.

      Acupuncture is a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), developed thousands of years ago, that involves placing very fine needles into specific body points, to recreate health by enhancing the flow of energy throughout the body. Acupuncture works by regulating what's referred to as qi (pronounced chee) or life energy that flows through the body along paths called meridians. Qi moves through 14 main meridians of the body that are linked to specific organs or organ systems.

      You might envision your body as a flowing stream with currents (meridians) running through it. In TCM, the thinking is that disease occurs when something blocks the natural flow of the meridians and causes a dam of sorts. If a river is dammed, the water pools and may stagnate. The body is viewed in a similar way. Acupuncture works to remove those blocks in the meridians, allowing qi to flow again.

      While both Eastern and Western methods of medicine treat many of the same diseases and disorders, acupuncture uses an entirely different approach to provide the body with balance, harmony and health.

      "Acupuncture comes from a bio-electric viewpoint of the human body, whereas Western medicine sees the human body by breaking it down into its smallest parts," says Emmett Smith, OMD, Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM), former president of the Acupuncture Association of Colorado and author of the upcoming book Acupuncture Demystified (Marlow & Company).

      "Both perspectives are completely valid," Smith says. "The growing acceptance of acupuncture comes from the fact that it is highly effective in areas where Western medicine is less strong-true prevention of disease and the treatment of chronic problems that do not respond well to Western approaches."

      Acupuncture is now commonplace throughout many parts of the world as well as in the United States , and is used for people of all ages and even pets. Acupuncture seeks to address many health problems; some examples include infertility, back pain, respiratory disorders, acne, depression, impotence, PMS and addictions. So strong is the current acceptance of acupuncture that some prisons-including the Denver County Jail-offer acupuncture to help drug-addicted inmates.

      Commonplace or not, the concept of having needles inserted into often-sensitive areas of the body can scare many people away from acupuncture. One woman winced when I asked her if she'd ever had acupuncture. "I have a needle phobia," she said. "Even when I go to the dentist, I sweat and shake during the injection until the Novocain sets in. Then I'm fine."

      It's important to realize that acupuncture needles and injection needles are two different tools, used in two different ways. The flexible needles used in acupuncture today are extremely thin, about three times the thickness of a human hair. Acupuncture needles are also sterile, packaged and disposable; they're made from stainless steel and are used only once before being discarded. And unlike hypodermic needles that move fluid into the body, the acupuncture needle is solid and does not transfer fluid.

      Many people wonder if acupuncture needles hurt. Everyone has a different threshold of pain, but for me, the acupuncture needling did not sting or cause pain like an injection needle. I have sometimes felt a slight sting or pinch when needles have been inserted. One needle inserted near my ankle did cause considerable pressure that seemed to subside during the treatment. And I didn't like the sensation of a needle placed at the crown of my head. However, many people say they feel little pain with acupuncture needles, and feel relaxed and refreshed after treatment.

      Typically, depending on the nature of the problem, about five to 20 acupuncture needles are placed along points in the body. For my vertigo, about 10 needles were placed around my upper back, on my head and near my ankles. I've also undergone treatment in which needles were placed in my arms, wrists and legs. The needles are usually left in the body from 15 to 40 minutes while the patient rests flat on their stomach or back on a regular doctor's table in a quiet, calm setting. Sometimes soothing music is played in the background. In addition, acupuncturists often prescribe herbs, and may also use other techniques.

      The acupuncturist diagnoses the patient in an entirely different way from Western medicine. Words such as yin, yang, damp, hot, cold, excess or deficient make up the TCM diagnostic lingo. But at their very roots, both systems have some similarities in treatment approaches.

      "I have trained more than 180 Western physicians in acupuncture, and have interacted and referred with dozens more," says Smith. "I speak much of their language, but at the heart of things, I see everything, even Western approaches, in yin and yang terms."

      For example, he says, inflammation is a yang phenomenon: It is hot, surging and tends to spread easily. To treat inflammation, Western physicians may use "yin" medications, like painkillers and anti-inflammatories, which cool the heat and calm or slow the patient. An acupuncturist may use yin herbs that will cool the patient, disperse heat and relieve pain.

      With acupuncture, the practitioner sets out to solve the health problem by assessing the whole person, instead of only focusing on various symptoms, as is the standard with most Western medicine. The acupuncturist defines disease in terms of the entire body, both physical and emotional. The basic diagnostic procedures for acupuncture include checking the pulse on each wrist, examining the tongue, talking with the patient and observing the color of the face. All of these techniques are critical to diagnosing the patient and deciding in what way and where the needles will be placed on the body to enhance qi and promote health.

      The acupuncturist determines how many treatments are needed, depending on the type and severity of the problem. For example, something like the flu might be treated with one or two visits. A chronic condition like asthma, however, would most likely require repeated visits.

      Currently, there are thousands of licensed acupuncturists in the United States . The increasing growth of Oriental medicine over the last two decades is partly due to national, accredited certification and examination programs.

      To become an acupuncturist, students attend a graduate program in TCM for three to four years completing a minimum of approximately 1,800 hours of Chinese medical education and clinical training. After this, graduates take a national exam given by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). Once this exam is passed, the acupuncturist is awarded the title, "Diplomat of Acupuncture of the NCCAOM" (Dipl.Ac). In Colorado , acupuncturists who pass the NCCAOM exam are given the title, "Licensed Acupuncturist" (L.Ac.) by the state of Colorado . Certification is renewed every two years. For a directory of board-certified practitioners, visit www.ACUCOL.com (Acupuncture Association of Colorado) or www.NCCAOM.org (National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine).

 

Resources, local and beyond

      For more information on acupuncture, check out the following resources:

. Acupuncture: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know by Gary F. Fleischman (Barrytown, Ltd, 1998)

. Between Heaven and Earth by Harriet Beinfield, L.Ac. and Efrem Korngold, L.Ac., O.M.D. (Ballantine Books, 1991)

. Fundamentals of Chinese Acupuncture by Nigel Wiseman, Ken Boss (contributor), Andrew W. Ellis, Richard Feit (editor) (Paradigm, 1991)

. The Web That Has No Weaver by Ted Kaptchuk (Congdon & Weed Inc., 1983)

. Traditional Chinese Medicine: Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World by Heidi Nye (McGraw-Hill, 1999)

. www.easternharmonyclinic.com

. www.medicalacupuncture.org