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FAQ's
What
is acupuncture?
"Auco"
a Latin word meaning puncture. This is a way of treatment
in which hairs like thin needles are prick to cure certain
diseases. This is an ancient Chinese art of healing, now
it recommended by WHO and this science is used world wide.
What is acupuncture points?
Points on the body surface discovered by the ancient physicians
which, on puncturing, heating or applying pressure cure
or relieve the symptoms of disease. Modern research has
shown that there is a lowered electrical resistance at the
majority of traditional points and perhaps even biological
differences, such as increased oxygen consumption.
What can I expect when visiting an acupuncturist?
There are many different styles of acupuncture. Regardless
of the style practiced, the first visit should help your
practitioner understand your reasons for seeking acupuncture
treatment and assess the underlying imbalances leading to
your symptoms.
He begins with an interview which includes both your
medical and personal history and continues with a physical
examination and consultation. Depending on your practitioner,
you may or may not receive a treatment at the time of your
first visit. The length and frequency of subsequent visits
will vary depending on your practitioner and your response
to treatment. The treatments will generally not involve
more than 20 needles, and may also include a other related
techniques e.g. moxibustion. Often you will be required
to take 10-20 sessions so that both you and your practitioner
can closely follow your response to treatment.
What
about the needles? Do they hurt?
First of all, the needles used to stimulate acupuncture
points have no resemblance to conventional syringe needles
used for giving injections. Acupuncture needles are very
slender, about the thickness of two human hairs. Many practitioners
now use only stainless steel, pre-sterilized, disposable
needles which are used once and then discarded.
Most insertions are just beneath the skin's surface. The
sensations vary from person to person. Usually a dull, momentary
ache or tingling is felt.
What
is the relationship between acupuncture and conventional
medical care?
While acupuncture is concerned with the whole person and
addresses itself to many levels of functioning, it is also
a particular form of treatment with its own limitations.
It needs to be used in conjunction with health-promoting
attitudes and behaviors. Responsible acupuncturists evaluate
each patient in holistic way keeping in view patient’s
western medical diagnosis and do not recommend altering
medications or other therapies just because of own interests.
What
is Acupuncture Analgesia?
Abolition or dulling of pain sensation by the use of acupuncture,
also called "acupuncture anesthesia" when used
for surgical operations. The Chinese name for this is "Chen-Ma"
which means "Needle-Anesthesia"
What is the difference between Acupuncture & Acupressure?
Acupuncture
is interventional method of treatment, in which mostly needles
are inserted inside the body, but Acupressure is non interventional
way of treatment in which only pressure is applied on acu
points. In China, Acupressure is home remedy system of treatment.
It is mostly used for preventive aspect.
What is Acupunctoscope?
(Also
called Acupuncture Point Detector and Stimulator). A multi-purpose
electronic instrument which (a) detects acupuncture points
using the phenomenon of lowered electrical resistance at
these points, and (b) generates a pulsed electric current
to stimulate the acupuncture point (with or without needles).
What is Channels or Meridian?
Meridians are the pathways through which vital energy (Qi)
flows in the body. There are 14 main Channels of which 12
are paired (bilateral) and 2 are unpaired (midline). Vital
energy (Qi) flows in these Channels in an orderly cyclic
sequence.
Branches of Channels which connect one Channel to another
in order to balance the flow of vital energy are called
collaterals (Luo).
What is Cupping?
A
technique of traditional Chinese medicine where suction
is applied to diseased parts of the body using ceramic /
plastic cup in order to increase the regional circulation
and thereby promote healing. This is quite effective in
certain ailments and reveals quick effects.
What is Deqi?
The subjective sensation felt by a person who is needled,
also referred to as the "acupuncture sensation. It
si described as being a combination of numbness, heaviness,
soreness, distension and the radiation of one or more of
these sensations. It is believed that better therapeutic
success is obtained when "deqi" is elicited, particularly
in acupuncture anaesthesia. The sensation felt by the acupuncture
due to local musclespasms around the needle is also called
deqi.
What
are causing factors of diseases?
Chinese medical practitioners have always recognised that
emotional factors play a part in health and illness. The
emotional life cannot be separated from the physical. Concern
for the psychological texture of a patient’s being
must be part of a physician’s examination, as the Fundamental
Substances and the Organs are all intimately connected to
the emotions.
The Nei Jing cites seven emotions that particularly affect
the body and that are still considered most important: joy,
anger, sadness, grief, pensiveness, fear and fright. The
differences between sadness and grief, fear and fright,
appear to be of degree; sometimes these pairs are combined
as one emotion. Of course, emotional qualities are not in
themselves pathological, and all of them appear in healthy
individuals. It is only when an emotion is either excessive
or insufficient over a long period of time, or when it arises
very suddenly with great force, that it can generate imbalance
and illness. And the reverse is also true: Internal disharmony
can generate unbalanced emotional states.
Emotional excess or insufficiency acts on the Qi and on
the other Substances. The Nei Jing states that "excess
joy is associated with slow and scattered Qi; excess anger
induces the Qi to ascend; excess sadness and grief weakens
the Qi; excess pensiveness generates ‘knottedness’
or ‘stuckness’; fear results in descending Qi;
and fright induces chaotic Qi."
What
is Embedding therapy?
A recently developed technique in which sterile catgut is
surgically implanted at on e or more acupuncture points
in order to give prolonged stimulation. Dermal needles are
press needles are also embedded in the skin to provide continuous
stimulation between treatment sessions. These therapies
are very useful in chronic or resistant conditions like
bronchial asthma, trigeminal neuralgia, migraine and the
pain of secondary cancer.
What
are Extraordinary Channels?
Channels other than the 12 Organ Channels are called Extraordinary
Channels. There are 8 such Channels including the Ren and
Du Channels (the midline Channels).
What are Extraordinary Points?
Acupuncture
points which were discovered after the know (classical)
points were placed in the Channels and numbered about two
thousand years ago. While the majority of the Extraordinary
points fall outside the Channels, some lie in the path of
a Channel and some even coincide with regular points.
What is Laser Therapy?
A new method of acupuncture therapy using a laser-beam instead
of a needle to stimulate that acupuncture points.
What is the Manipulation of the needle?
The art of moving the needle after insertion in order to
cause further stimulation at the acupuncture points. Three
chief methods used (I) rotation (ii) lifting and thrusting
; (iii) a combination of rotation and lifting and thrusting.
The art of manipulation is best learnt under the guidance
of a trained acupuncturist. The same effects may be obtained
electrically. This is known as electro-stimulation of a
point.
What are Midline Channels?
These are two unpaired Channels, the Ren and Du Channels.
What is Moxibustion?
A
method of Chinese medicine where disease is treated by directly
or indirectly heating the acupuncture points by burning
"moxa" made from the dried leaves of the plant
artemesia vulgaris. "Mogusa" (pronounced "moxa")
is the Japanese name of this plant which means "burning
herb".
What is Noon-Midnight Law?
(Also known as the Midday-Midnight Law) Vital energy (Oi)
flows through the Twelve Channels to make a complete cycle
every 24 hours. The tide of energy passes through each Channel
therefore in a two hour period. Diseases due to a deficiency
of a particular Channel are said to be most responsive to
treatment by acupuncture at the commencement of this two
hour period, as advantage may be taken of the force of the
entering tide of energy. It is also believed that by treating
a Channel an effect is registered in the Channel which lies
diametrically opposite to it on the so-called "Organ
Clock".
What are the Physiological effects of acupuncture?
(1) Analgesia (2) Sedation (3) Homeostasis (4) Enhancement
of the immune mechanisms (5) Anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic,
(6) Motor recovery (7) Psychological effects.
What is Press needle?
(Embedding
needle) A small needle which is plastered onto the skin
at an acupuncture point in order to give continuous stimulation
between treatment sessions. The ear is a commonly used site
for press needles.
What is Qi?
The
Chinese term for the primal energy which pervades the entire
Universe. As applied to the human organism, it refers mainly
to the energy circulating in the Channels (Jing Qi). As
in the Universe, so in the human body, Qi influences the
interaction of Yin and Yang and the relationship between
the Five Elements. Disease therefore is due to the inadequate
circulation or lack of Qi, or its imbalance within the organism.
The body carries a certain amount of Qi at birth; it is
depleted by the daily activities of living; it is augmented
by the intake of food and air. The absence of Qi is death.
What is Swift insertion of needle?
The art of inserting needles with the swiftest possible
speed. By using this method the pain felt on inserting is
considerable reduced or even eliminated. (In contradistinction
to this, the Chinese barefoot doctors employ a slow insertion
method).
What
is Three-edged needle?
(Prismatic needle). A needle which is used to cause bleeding
as a form of therapy in certain diseases. It is used with
a quick pricking method at the Jing-Well points in treating
conditions like shock, coma and cardio-respiratory depression,
and with the slow pricking method at points like Chize (Lu
5) and Weizhong (UB 40) in treating certain chronic conditions.
What is Yin Yang ?
These are the negative and positive factors in the Universe
which activate Qi or vital energy. The term is also used
to denote the relativity of all phenomena and of all concepts
of the human mind. The Chinese ideography of Yang depicts
the sunny side of the hill while the symbol for Yin shows
the darker side of the hill. The Qi in the human organism
is also categorized into Yin and Yang according to the nature
of the energy flow through each Channel. By inserting needles
at specific acupuncture points it is possible to restore
any imbalance in the Yin-Yang nature of the energy flow,
or in other words, to restore homeostasis. This is the basic
of all acupuncture therapy.
What is Auriculotherapy?
An ancient method of using the external ear to diagnose
and treat illness. Every part of the body has functional
representation on the ear, and the locations of these points
have been charted with a great deal of accuracy. It is acupuncture
needle stimulation to the auricle of the external ear using
a diagnostic and therapeutic means of alleviating pain dysfunction
and disease as manifest in other parts of the body. The
ear points selected for treatment can also be detected and
treated by using the acupunctoscope.
Who can perform auriculotherapy?
It
can be performed by any skilled medical practitioner or
acupuncturist.
What problems is auriculotherapy good for?
Auriculotherapy is good for acute painful problems alleviating
pain almost immediately or within 24 to 48 hours. Auricle
therapy is good for chronic degenerative conditions such
as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic
painful conditions like spinal stenosis and other chronic
central nervous system conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
Other conditions include diseases and dysfunctions of the
gastrointestinal, genital urinary and cardiovascular systems.
Auricular therapy should not take the place of acute orthodox
medical care in life threatening situations.
Does Auriculotherapy hurt?
Using
acupuncture needles on the ear, pain may last one to three
seconds with the placing of the needle. Otherwise, acupuncture
needles should not hurt on the ear. If electrical stimulation
is used or lasers are used on the ears, there should be
little to no pain at all perceived by the patient.
How
frequently should I be treated?
In
most cases, treatment for most chronic conditions may be
treated once or twice per weeks. However, in some acute
conditions and very serious conditions auriculotherapy may
be applied daily for approximately one week to 10 days.
How does auriculotherapy work?
Auriculotherapy
works by stimulating the central nervous system through
the cranial nerves/spinal nerves on the auricle of the ear.
This stimulation results in a neurotransmitters being stimulation
within the periactal ductal gray and pituitary and spinal
cord of the central nervous system. This stimulation of
neurotransmitters modulates the pain and modulates nerve
function beginning the healing process within the body to
that organ or body part. |
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