Introduction
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine that treats people by insertion and handling of solid, usually thin needles into the body. Through its beginnings, acupuncture has been deep-rooted in the notions of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Its general theory is based on the idea that bodily functions are synchronized by the flow of an energy-like entity called qi. Acupuncture tries to right inequities in the flow of qi by stimulus of anatomical locations on or under the skin called acupuncture points, most of which are linked by channels known as meridians. Scientific study has not found any bodily or organic correlate of qi, meridians and acupuncture points, and some modern practitioners needle the body without using an academic structure, instead choosing points because of their tenderness to pressure (Acupuncture: An Introduction, 2011).
Contributing Factors
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is becoming a more and more accepted form of complementary medicine in the UK. It is thought that about one million adults in Britain have had acupuncture and that a million herbal prescriptions are written every year. Even as little as ten years ago, TCM was still thought of as a border treatment and one would have been hard pressed to find a practitioner outside of London. Since then, complementary or alternative medicine has been flourishing, and Chinese medical centers have been opening on streets all around the country. “The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM), the self-regulating body which embodies practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine, has seen its membership grow by on average 30% per year to about 350 members at present” (Chinese Cures for British Ills, n.d.).
There are a number of reasons ...
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...the acupuncture profession (The Acupuncture Society, n.d).
Conclusion
Acupuncture has been around for a long time but is just recently becoming a chosen form of treatment in the UK. There are currently no regulations that govern the practice of acupuncture in the UK but there are professional boards that watch over the practitioners. These same boards are currently pushing for regulation of complementary medicine as its own entity.
Because of the growing demand for acupuncture in the UK there is also a growing interest in research in this area. The increased research is also lending to the growing interest and demands for acupuncture which is fuelling the supports to lobby for regulation in order to make the field of acupuncture one that is sanctioned and legitimate. In the end the regulation will only increase the interest and demand across the country.
Mathews, Holly F. "Introduction: A Regional Approach and Multidisciplinary Persepctive." Herbal and Magical Medicine: Traditional Healing Today. Ed. James Kirkland, Holly F. Mathews, C. W. Sullivan, III, and Karen Baldwin. Durham: Duke UP, 1992. 1-13. Print.
...this alternative medicine in reinforcing the legitimacy of their work is that there are even discrepancies between them on exactly how to achieve the desired results. “One of the many methodological problems with auricular acupuncture is that there are so many maps of the ear and little agreement exists regarding point location, lacking definite anatomic stud on the ear skin and its somatotopic correspondences” (Gori 16). In order for this alternative method of treatment to become more mainstream and accepted as legitimate, more conclusive evidence and more consistent results across multiple studies, and more consistent application of the acupuncture itself must be achieved. Until that point, auricular acupuncture will continue to help persons who have experienced its benefits, but it will not receive the attention that a more proven treatment would by the masses.
Traditional Chinese Medicine: An Introduction [NCCAM Backgrounder]. (n.d.).National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine [NCCAM] - nccam.nih.gov Home Page. Retrieved December 11, 2011, from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/chinesemed.htm
Acupuncture is a practice involving insertion of extremely thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. It is commonly used to treat pain.
Chinese physicians discovered over 5,000 years ago that the arousal of certain areas on the skin affect the operation of the bodies organs and organ systems (http://www.demon.co.uk). Acupuncture works to restore homeostasis to the body through the insertion of stainless steel needles into acupoints below the surface of the skin (http://www.holistic.com.). The body is made up of lines of energy called Qi, that "communicate fro...
Nowadays, complementary alternative medicine is very popular in the United States. It is widely used by adults and children. National health statistic reports done in 2007 shows that 38.3% of adults and 11.8% of children use some form of alternative medicine (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). But why is this happening? Why is it becoming so popular? Why are more people turning to it? Many times, this is because conventional medicine has not work and they want to try an alternative. That is the case of the author of this paper.
The chiropractic profession is one of the largest and to present, the most commonly known profession to complement and take part in the so called mainstream and ‘alternative medicine’. (Meeker, WC et al. 2002.) With a relatively new founding of chiropractic, the profession has since been divided into a range of theories towards effective treatments, structure and function. These contradicting theories, between followers of the original ideology, and those of the evolved theory, have caused a major schism within the profession, which have further negatively impacted society’s view of the chiropractic profession as a whole. (Meeker, WC et al. 2002.)
Acupuncture is an essential part of traditional Chinese medicine, its usually used as an alternative treatment in the international medical field. Long, thin spines are put in the surface of skin on specific points to make the Qi flow free. It is organized to be a diagnosis and treatment in The Yellow Emperor 's Classic of Internal Medicine from 100 BC. In the twentieth century, it began to spread in European and gradually used by patients when western medical treatments do not work. Some people believe that the acupuncture is effective for curing pain. According to balanced yin yang and promoted blood recycling. However, some other people have a different argument that acupuncture is
The philosophy and practice is composed of many different systems of traditional medicine, which are all influenced by prevailing conditions, environment, and geographic area within, where it first evolved into WHO (2005). Although it is a common
Acupuncture originated in China and it has been practice for more than 2000 years now. This modality is considered the main treatment within the traditional Chinese medicine. Its main concept is the conviction that the body possesses hidden channels identified as meridians. These channels allows for the flow of energy which is considered a vital life force through all the body. Acupuncture modality believes that when this energy becomes obstructed or imbalanced, sickness and symptoms can build up. It is only when this energy becomes unblocked by stimulating focal points in the meridians that health can be achieved again (Cherry & Jacob, 2010).
Acupuncture (and its related Moxibustion) are practiced medical treatments that are over 5,000 years old. Very basically, Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine needles, (sometimes in conjunction with electrical stimulus), on the body's surface, in order to influence physiological functioning of the body.
Acupuncture doesn’t allow people to get ahead of themselves like Victor did; the way of thinking brought about is that of a natural sense. The techniques of the alternative medicine allow people to remember how magnificent and sacred the human body is and realize that it cannot be created through lab work or perfected through medicine. With Western medicine, patients can take up to four or five medications before finding one that suits their needs and most can have many life threatening side effects. With acupuncture, it is one procedure and one attempt to heal a patient with NO major side effects. Acupuncture is a unique ancient art that is backed by thousands of years of Chinese thought and research and has been proven affective for many people and their illnesses.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is slowly becoming better known all over the world. CAM encompasses various types of therapies, such as yoga, reflexology, chiropractic therapy, herbal therapy, ayurveda, meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc. The evidenced-based research, recognition of disconnect between patients and also the positive and negative aspects of CAM modalities are reasons behind the increased attention it has gained in medicals schools all over the United States. (Hart, 2009, p. 287).
2008 performed a study that assessed the efficacy of acupuncture in migraine prophylaxis (Alecrim-Andrade et al., 2008). Thirty- seven patients with migraines were enrolled in the study and the patients were divided into two groups in a randomized controlled trial. One group received 16 real acupuncture sessions over a period of three months while the other group received 16 sham acupuncture over the same time period (Alecrim-Andrade et al., 2008). In the first two months, real acupuncture group showed significant improvement compared with the sham acupuncture group (Alecrim-Andrade et al., 2008). Enthrallingly, the difference that existed between sham and real acupuncture groups disappeared in the third (last) month suggesting that with time, sham acupuncture gets to the efficacy level of real acupuncture. Another complementing study performed by Bäcker et al. 2008 investigated the influence of acupuncture on the autonomic system of migraineurs (Bäcker et al., 2008). Researchers monitored changes in heart rate variability during acupuncture treatment in thirty migraineurs. These migraineurs were allocated to two groups receiving either verum acupuncture (VA) or sham acupuncture (SA) treatment (Bäcker et al., 2008). The study revealed that in both VA and SA groups, there was at least 50% reduction of migraine attacks. In addition, the clinical responders exhibited a decrease of low-frequency power of heart rate variability in the course of the treatment. This effect was not observed in patients without clinical benefit (Bäcker et al., 2008). Although VA compared with SA induced a stronger decrease of high- frequency power, mode of acupuncture however, did not have an impact on clinical outcome (Bäcker et al.,
Chinese-American Charles Feng (2012) remarks in the peer-reviewed Journal of Young Investigators, that traditional medicine differs vastly in its philosophy from allopathic medicine, and the combination of traditional and allopathic medicine is more effective than either independent healthcare system (para. 17). The integration of traditional medicine causes doctors to become familiar with strong and weak facets of either system, and expand their understanding of their patient’s health and treatment (para.