Acupuncture is a term used to describe a family of procedures involving the stimulation of anatomical points on the body using a variety of techniques including needles, cupping, and moxabustion. As it is usually practiced, acupuncture is supplemented by treatments such as herbal medicine, dietary therapy, massage techniques such as Tui na and Shiatsu massage, movement therapies like Qigong and Taiji (Tai Chi), and meditation. The acupuncture technique that is most often associated with the practice and that has been most often studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.
How acupuncture works
The basis of acupuncture and Chinese medicine is the idea of Qi (chi), a life force or energy. This energy is continuously generated and flows in 12 major meridians in the body. It also has 2 polarities: yin and yang. Yin represents the cold, slow, or passive principle, while yang represents the hot, excited, or active principle. When these forces are balanced and the energy flows harmoniously in the 12 meridians, the body is in a state of health. When these energies become disturbed, the body is then diseased.
Acupuncture clinical practice is directed to the discovery of alterations in the flow of Qi. Acupuncture treatments are intended to reverse these pathologic changes by redirecting the flow of the energy in the meridians through the insertion and manipulation of needles on the points along the meridians. The Chinese used this technique for essentially all diseases.
Conventional medical science has proposed that acupuncture produces its effects through regulating the nervous system, thus aiding the activity of pain-killing biochemicals such as endorphins and the action of immune system cells at specific sites in the body. In addition, studies have shown that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters and the neurohormones thus affecting the parts of the central nervous system related to the sensation and involuntary body functions, such as immune reactions and processes that regulate a person’s blood pressure, blood flow, and body temperature.
Find out more about acupuncture here…www.nccam.nih.gov
Education and training
In the US, acupuncture practitioners have Master’s level degrees. Over 60 educational institutions and programs are accredited by The Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) which is the sole agency that is recognized by the US Department of Education to accredit professional programs in the field. ACAOM’s mission is to foster excellence in acupuncture and Oriental medicine education.
More about ACAOM here…www.acaom.org
Licensure and regulation
In order to practice acupuncture legally, most states in the US require a license to practice acupuncture. Requirements for licensure include graduation from a recognized training program and successful passage of competency examinations. Many states require examination or certification by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). NCCAOM certifies practitioners in acupuncture, Asian Bodywork therapy, Chinese herbology and Oriental medcinen. Maintaining a license to practice usually requires ongoing professional education.
More information can be found at…www.nccaom.org
What do acupuncturists treat?
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AOM) practitioners treat the entire range of human illness. While AOM does not, however, promise to cure the entire range of illness, such a claim is inaccurate for any form of medicine. While acupuncturists in the US most commonly treat pain, the World Health Organization (WHO) looked at the science behind acupuncture treatment of many diseases and disorders.
More on this report at… www.who.int