Acupuncture Facts
What is Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Traditional Chinese Medicine has its origin in ancient Taoist
philosophy which views a person as an energy system in which body and
mind are unified, each influencing and balancing the other. Unlike
allopathic medicine which attempts to isolate and separate a disease
from a person, Chinese Medicine emphasizes a holistic approach that
treats the whole person. Many people have found Traditional Chinese
methods of healing to be excellent tools for maintaining optimum health
and preventing illness. It is effective for physical, psychological and
emotional problems.
What is Acupuncture and how does it work?
The ancient Chinese believed that there is a universal life energy
called Chi or Qi present in every living creature. This energy is said
to circulate throughout the body along specific pathways that are called
meridians. As long as this energy flows freely throughout the meridians,
health is maintained, but once the flow of energy is blocked, the system
is disrupted and pain and illness occur. Imagine rivers that flood and
cause disasters or an electrical grid short-circuiting that causes
blackouts. Acupuncture works to “re-program” and restore normal
functions by stimulating certain points on the meridians in order to
free up the Chi energy.
Did You Know?
severe heart failure
 Research
has shown that acupuncture can be beneficial to people with severe heart
failure. By reducing the pressure on the heart, acupuncture decreases
activity in the sympathetic nervous system regulating involuntary
movements such as heartbeat and blood pressure. Scandinavian studies
have shown that acupuncture can increase the heart's working capacity,
reducing pain and the need for medication.
In Chinese medicine, chest pain and heart failure have different
causes. The basic cause of chest pain is obstruction of the circulation
of chi and blood. Deficient patterns include weak circulation of blood
with increased viscosity which causes stagnation. Excess patterns
include pathogenic substances which block chi and blood circulation.
knee arthritis
 In a 2004 study, acupuncture was shown to be helpful in reducing pain due to knee arthritis. It also could be beneficial for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder. And when used along with in vitro fertilization, it may be effective in increasing the odds of success in female conception. Stimulating an acupuncture point in the toe even may help correct the breech position of babies in the last trimester and allow more women to avoid C-sections, according to a study in the Journal of the
American Medical Association.
(Alternative Therapies That Really Work - By Dr. Mark Liponis) More...
PEDIATRIC Acupuncture PROGRAM
Helps Children with Chronic Pain
The Pediatric Pain Management Clinic at
Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)
has announced its collaboration with Yo San
University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in
creating a pediatric acupuncture program to help
children manage chronic pain. The collaboration
was initiated by Drs. Dao and Mao with their
associates at IVF Acupuncture Services, Drs.
Wendy Yu and Brandon Horn, along with Dr.
Jeffrey Gold, Ph.D., Director of the Pediatric Pain
Management Clinic. The program, which began
in January 2009, provides an opportunity for
Yo San University interns to obtain clinical experience
at Children's Hospital, a teaching hospital
affiliated with the University of Southern California.
“We are excited to bring acupuncture to the
patients at Children's Hospital Los Angeles,”
says Jonathan Heywood, Yo San University’s
president. “This is an extraordinary opportunity
in integrative medicine that offers our students
another layer of richness and opportunity in our
unique program.” There are also plans to develop
joint research projects and studies in integrative
medicine, combining acupuncture with Western
medicine in pediatric care and treatment.
A paper recently published by Dr. Jeffrey Gold
and his colleagues in the journal Evidence-based
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
concludes, "Given the promising trends in the
current acupuncture research, the relative willingness
of families to engage in acupuncture and
the low risk of deleterious side effects, acupuncture
may serve to harmonize Traditional Western
Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine as
a means of promoting preventive care and
symptom management for children."
|
