Acupuncture is part of the ancient practice of Traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners believe the human body has more than 2,000 acupuncture points connected by pathways or meridians. These pathways create an energy flow (Qi, pronounced "chee") through the body that is responsible for overall health. Disruption of the energy flow can cause disease. By applying acupuncture to certain points, it is thought to improve the flow of Qi, thereby improving health.
Improper placement of the needle can cause pain during treatment. Needles must be sterilized to prevent infection. That is why it is important to seek treatment from a qualified acupuncture practitioner. The FDA regulates acupuncture needles just as it does other medical devices under good manufacturing practices and single-use standards of sterility.
principles and practice of contemporary acupuncture pdf
Choose a licensed acupuncture practitioner. Your own doctor may be a good resource for referrals to a licensed or certified practitioner. Friends and family members may also be good sources of referrals. You do not have to be a doctor to practice acupuncture or to become a certified acupuncturist. About 30 states have established training standards for certification in acupuncture, although not all states require acupuncturists to get a license to practice. Although not all certified acupuncturists are doctors, the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture can provide a referral list of doctors who practice acupuncture.
There are three new principles in this presentation of scalp acupuncture, however, which are of central importance and which depart considerably from traditional Chinese medicine. The first of these principles is the location of scalp acupuncture areas based on the reflex somatotopic system organized on the surface of the scalp in Western medicine. These do not relate to the theory of channels in Chinese medicine and are an essentially new type of conception. Second, because the technological innovation and invention of scalp acupuncture is fairly new, positive results can only reasonably be achieved by practitioners who have studied it; even an established doctor in China cannot perform it without at least seeing a demonstration of it. Third, scalp acupuncture consists of needling areas rather than points on the skull according to the brain's neuro-anatomy and neurophysiology. Unlike traditional acupuncture, where one needle is inserted into a single point, in scalp acupuncture needles are subcutaneously inserted into whole sections of various zones. These zones are the specific areas through which the functions of the central nervous system, endocrine system, and channels are transported to and from the surface of the scalp. From a Western perspective, these zones correspond to the cortical areas of the cerebrum and cerebellum responsible for central nervous system functions such as motor activity, sensory input, vision, speech, hearing, and balance.
In clinical practice, acupuncture treatments are typically based not just on a systematic or rigidly applied system, but also on highly individualized philosophical constructs and intuitive impressions. The practitioner has a wide amount of discretion on the use of points and techniques. Therefore, even when treating the same complaint, the method of treatment chosen by one practitioner can vary significantly from another. Scalp acupuncture, on the other hand, applies more of a Western medicine approach, where patients with the same diagnosis usually receive the same or very similar treatment.
Although acupuncture and moxibustion have been used to prevent and treat disease in China for thousands of years, scalp acupuncture is a modern technique with a short history. In the West, many healthcare practitioners are familiar with acupuncture for pain management, while scalp acupuncture as a main tool for rehabilitation is a relatively new concept. It is still not easy for medical practitioners and the public to accept the reality that acupuncture can help in the recovery of paralysis, aphasia, and ataxia, while Western medical technology does not so far have effective treatments for those conditions. It is not surprising for a Western physician to claim that it is a coincidence if a patient recovers from paralysis after acupuncture. Therefore, there is an urgent need for Chinese scalp acupuncture to be studied and perfected, and extensive research done to fully explore its potential and utility. Chinese scalp acupuncture has been taught and used sparingly in the West and there are few books published on the subject. With such little information available, it has been almost impossible to apply this technique widely and with confidence. This book supplies all the needed information to practice scalp acupuncture.
In addition to more than 29 years of clinical practice of scalp acupuncture, we have taught scores of seminars for both practitioners of Chinese medicine and Western physicians practicing acupuncture in the USA and Europe, including eight years of seminars sponsored by UCLA and Stanford University. This book contains many amazing case reports from our years of clinical practice and teaching as examples of what is possible using these techniques. While it is not our intention to assert that scalp acupuncture is always effective with every patient, these clinical reports make a compelling case for its wider use. For example, in a report about the scalp acupuncture treatment of seven veterans with phantom limb pain at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2006, the results were as follows. After only one treatment per patient, three of the seven veterans instantly felt no further phantom pain, three others reported having very little pain, and only one patient showed no improvement. Such results warrant continued research into other possible uses for scalp acupuncture to alleviate human suffering.
During our lectures around the world, we are often asked why, if it is so effective in treating disorders of the central nervous system, has scalp acupuncture not spread to the whole world and been applied widely in practice? First, up to now there has been no authoritative and practical text for scalp acupuncture in English. Second, there is a very limited number of highly experienced teachers. Third, manual manipulation is very difficult to learn and master without detailed description and demonstration. And fourth, the names of stimulation areas are different from the standardized names given by the Standard International Acupuncture Nomenclature of the World Health Organization, Section 3.6 on Scalp Acupuncture, in Geneva in 1989.
Furthermore, there have been few reports or articles published on treatment by scalp acupuncture. Most existing textbooks either lack detailed information or only introduce some new research on the topic. From their teachers and textbooks, students can learn only general information about scalp acupuncture and its locations and clinical applications. Therefore, many practitioners in both the West and the East are only mildly aware of this new technique, and few apply it in their practices. There is a high demand for a book that can provide teachers and students with useful knowledge and offer proper references to experienced practitioners. We feel confident that this book will meet these requirements.
In Tom's case, the hemiplegia was caused by cerebral thrombosis, which has the best prognosis for recovery from stroke compared to cerebral embolism and cerebral hemorrhage. It is necessary to point out, however, how unusual it is that a patient gets only one scalp acupuncture treatment and recovers completely. In our normal practice it often takes from several weeks to several months for stroke patients to improve and recover.
At the beginning of the third visit, his wife reported that Fred's mood and attitude were much better after the last treatment. He talked a little more and was easier to understand. To her surprise he reminded her what time he had the acupuncture appointment that day. Since the patient's attitude was relatively more positive toward acupuncture therapy, we were able to perform stronger stimulation after inserting needles at the same locations as for the initial treatment. Fred was able to follow instructions to practice his speech and do oral and pharyngeal exercises. He started to smile after hearing himself count from one to 10 very clearly. He refused to try drinking a little bit of water to test his swallowing function and said he was afraid that it could induce severe coughing and choking and cause aspiration. With continued encouragement Fred finally agreed to try. To his astonishment he did not choke at all when he took a first sip of water. He drank more and more and finished a whole cup of water without a problem.
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