Acupuncture is an oriental medicine that has been helping people maintaining their health for centuries in Asian countries including Japan.
To practice acupuncture, acupuncturists use fine needles to stimulate several key points in the body that is called “tsubo” in Japanese. These points (tsubos) were found from hundreds and hundreds of years of practices and experiences. Different points (tsubos) stimulations and their combinations have different effects.
Historically there are several acupunctures known in Japan such as “Ogasawara-ryu” in Edo and “Kiyamachi no Hari” in Kyoto.
Our body has developed since origin of life and in the middle of evolution to maintain our body to survive as possible.
In modern sciences and medicine, it is known that there are homeostasis mechanisms that try to keep our body balanced and consistent. As one result, immune systems might have evolved in animals. We also know that there are massive networks of nerve system in our body.
These fields are under intensive scientific researches and we know and accumulated massive knowledge in last a few centuries. Although we know a lot about homeostasis, immune systems, and nerve systems etc. but we do not know more than we know. In another word, we do NOT know everything and we have plenty of unknowns in nature that's why we are now continuously discovering and exploring the nature in our body and our universe.
One important “goal in medicine is cure people”.
Acupuncture works well with certain diseases. In acupuncture, stimulations in several points (tsubos) in several body parts that could coordinate and stimulate our bodies try to keep balanced and stimulate our homeostatic capabilities.
As the nature of acupuncture that could be assisting body's curing power itself, acupuncture may be more natural but may not be almighty (so as modern medicine). For example, against acute infections, antibody and drug treatments could be more significantly effective, although acupuncture may be able to assist immune system and homeostasis.
However, it may be wise to take advantages of what could be good for people’s health rather than simply deny everything judging from only what we now know.
In future, it is important to find out the mechanisms to fill the gaps between practices and effects what are behind in acupuncture with modern scientific terms that is still lacking or very limited at the moment.
Acupuncture works well with several diseases.
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Acupuncture is one of the five main modalities of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and involves the use of fine metal needles to stimulate, soothe or balance the body's energy flow. This often has the effect of curing a large spectrum of illnesses and diseases.
The energy involved in acupuncture, Qi (Chi) is believed by Chinese medicine practitioners to directly influence a person's health. By placing the acupuncture needles on specified points of the meridians and channels of the energetic body, the flow of the qi is regulated. Depending upon the angle and depth of insertion, the energy may be increased, decreased or balanced out.
A related practice, moxibustion (moxabustion), involves the application of burning sticks or pieces of moxa, or mugwort, on or near acupuncture points with the goal of once again modifying the body's energy flows.
So-called "needle-less acupuncture" is merely acupressure - applying pressure with fingers to acupuncture / acupressure points to modify the flow of chi.
Most US states have licensing requirements to practice acupuncture. To become an acupuncturist requires several years of training at an accredited school, in addition to passing the state tests.
My asthma disappeared after I went for acupuncture treatments.
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1. a treatment involving one's practice of pricking someone (else) with needles in order to elicit medical benefits. NB - not to be confused with injections or dart-throwing (no matter how skilled you are!)
I received some extensive acupuncture on my back today to relieve some tightness. I looked like a pin-cushion.
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One specific "treatment" in the world of Alternative Medicine. Despite over 500 studies showing the ineffectiveness of the treatment millions of people still go to be "healed." Any therapeutic effects felt from undergoing the treatment have been attributed to the incense filled room and the light massage before the actual treatment. Hardcore proponents claim that acupuncture has not been proven under scientific scrutiny because "it is not subject to science" which is nonsense because no such excuse would be tolerated for any other real medical procedure. Doctors take an oath to do whatever is ethically necessary to cure their patients, and the fact that virtually every doctor would NEVER prescribe acupuncture as an actual healing treatment should say a lot about its actual effectiveness.
Guy 1: Hey man I heard you were having really bad back pain.
Guy 2: Yeah, my doctor says I need immediate surgery to correct my spine.
Guy 1: What! Are you kidding? Do you know how dangerous that is? Go to this guy (hands Guy 1 a business card). He cures you by splashing water on the part of your body that hurts!
Guy 2: ...are YOU serious? That is such obvious crap.
Guy 3: Yeah don't listen to that guy go to an acupuncturist. It's been healing people for thousands of years.
Guy 1: Yeah I asked my doctor about that but he said that acupuncture really doesn't have any actual scientific evidence to support it.
Guy 3: Science? psh. Since when has western science helped anybody?
Guy 1: I don't know... he did use science to discover what was wrong with my back in the first place.
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Acupuncture is an oriental medicine that has been helping people maintaining their health for centuries in Asian countries including Japan.
To practice acupuncture, acupuncturists use fine needles and to stimulated several key points in the body that is called “tsubo” in Japanese. These points (tsubos) were found from hundreds and hundreds of years practices and experiences. Different point (tsubo) stimulations and their combinations have different effects.
Our body has natural gift or developed since origin of life and in the middle of evolution to maintain our body to survive as possible.
It is known that homeostasis mechanisms that try to keep our body balanced and consistent. One result might be, immune systems might have evolved in animals to defend our body against pathogens.
We also know that there are massive networks of nerve system in our body. In addition, we know brain, which is still unknown field, is central in human nerve system.
These fields are under intensive scientific researches and we know and accumulated massive knowledge in last a few centuries. Although we know a lot about homeostasis, immune systems, and nerve systems, but we do not know more than we know. In another word, we do NOT know entirely at all and that's why we are now continuously discovering and exploring the nature in our body and our universe.
One important “goal in medicine is cure people”.
Acupuncture works well with certain diseases. In acupuncture, stimulations in several points (tsubos) in several body parts that coordinate and lead our bodies try to keep balanced and stimulate our homeostatic capabilities. However,the mechanisms of acupuncture are not fully understood yet.
In addition, from my own experiences as a patient, and a descendent of historically famous Japanese acupuncturists family known as “Kiyamachi no Hari” in Kyoto and my family members are practicing acupuncture and modern medicine, as well as myself is a medical scientist in the field of molecular biology and immunology, I can say acupuncture works well with several diseases. However, acupuncture is not almighty at all (so as modern medicine) I think it is wise to take advantage of what could be good for people’s health rather than simply DENY..
I believe it is also important to perform researches to find out mechanisms what is behind in acupuncture with the modern sciences that is still lacking or very limited at the moment..
Acupuncture works well to certain diseases.
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An alternative medicine that consists of sticking needles in various places of the body. Practitioners claim that it is effective for pain relief and can actually cure some diseases. However, studies have repeatedly shown that the beneficial effects are no better than placebo and the specific placing of needles do not matter.
Do you want a massage for you back pain?
- Nah, I'll go stick some needles in it. Acupuncture surely works since alternative practitioners would never lie.
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