All About Acupunture

Acupuncture is over 5,000 years old. It was not just practiced in China. Egyptians talked about vessels that resembled the 12 meridians in 1550 BC. In their medical treatises called Papyrus Ebera. The South African Bantu tribesman scratched parts of their body to cure diseases. Arabs cauterized their ears with hot metal probes. Eskimos used sharp stones for simple acupuncture. Brazilian cannibals shot small arrows with blow pipes to sick parts of their body to cure diseases.

Primitive sharp stones and bamboo were later replaced by fish bones, bamboo clips, and then different types of needles made of metal. Day very fine hair thin needles used. With advanced technology and precision instruments, these needles placed at specific points on the body with little or no discomfort. When the stones and arrows were the only tools of war, warriors wounded in war, that some diseases that affected them for many years was now gone.

The first book on acupuncture were NEI CHING SU WEN written around 200 BC It had two parts: SU WEN and long SU. Therapies described Chinese medical thinking. It was geared to restore disturbed balance and harmony in the body. 100 B.C. SHI CHI was written on a physician Pien Chiieh who lived around 500 BC In it the doctor describes pulse diagnosis. 300 BC "Nei Ching" is a classic called "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine." It was a collection of books on medicine and medical writings. In conversations with the Emperor Ch'i Poa a court doctor about the relationship between human and natural elements. Causes and treatments for diseases. The importance of yin yang balance, acupuncture and moxibustion (burning of wool on the tip of a needle to increase the heat input to the injured body part).

Also in the third century BC, two famous medical books were written by Chang Chi: Different kinds of fever (Shang HAN LUN) and a short version of "The Golden Shrine" (Chin Kui Yao Liieh). Around 700 AD the first medical school was established in Salermo and around 300 doctors were trained in acupuncture and massage.

Acupuncture flourished in China until 1932, when Chang Khi Chek took power in China. He brought western medicine to China and acupuncture was banned in cities. When Mao Tse Tung took over in 1945 and Chang had fled to the island of Formosa (now Taiwan), the doors to China were closed to the west and acupuncture again was restored as the method of healing in a country without antibiotics and western medical thinking.

In 1972 President Nixon opened the doors to China. A New York Times journalist James Reston was in China at that time and had an emergency appendectomy with acupuncture used as an anesthetic. This brought great notoriety to acupuncture and renewed interest in this kind of treatment. Seeing brain surgery performed with acupuncture drew big headlines.

Europe was introduced to acupuncture from French Indochina (now Vietnam). The French interest triggered by the works of Dr. Nogier that from 1951 to 1996 produced a large proportion of research on ear acupuncture, which today is used as a basis for treatment of addiction and compliments oriental body acupuncture. This pioneer died in 1996, and his works are now published for the first time in English.

Acupuncture TODAY:

China and Taiwan today plays a leading role in the development of traditional Chinese medicine. In these countries there are some 232,000 traditional Chinese medical doctors and 50 institutes, which produces 30,000 traditional Chinese medical doctors annually. South Korea has developed very effective hand-acupuncture as a compliment other acupuncture procedures. Russia since the end of the Cold War has revealed research going on behind the iron curtain that has contributed to sonic and reflexology treatments today.

Japan's junior colleges of acupuncture. There are 8500 Japanese doctors in Oriental Medical Association method of acupuncture to compliment western medicine. 

In America there are about 8,000 acupuncturists. 16 acupuncture schools and 2 medical schools teaching acupuncture. UCLA Medical School has been teaching acupuncture to physicians under the leadership of Dr.Joseph Helms. In 18 states, only doctors can perform acupuncture. Border states like Florida, California and New York does not allow physicians to perform acupuncture. All require a license.

One organization, the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA), based in California, has a membership of nearly 1,000 physician members from all over the country. All doctors, members must have previously been approved for formal training and certification. Approximately 25% of these physicians work in pain centers throughout the Americas.

In Europe, oriental medical research very active and very sophisticated. Spain has an acupuncture school called Golden Clover. Germany, Austria and Italy all have a very strong and active acupuncture points. England has no organized acupuncture medical activity, but there is a British Medical Acupuncture Society, which is very active. France has pioneered ear acupuncture through its famous center in Lyons under the leadership of Dr. Nogier (he died recently).

As you see, acupuncture is practiced throughout the world. In the U.S., more and more practitioners now is to develop knowledge and skills in acupuncture. Many are incorporating all the rules of different countries, using hand, ear, Chinese, Japanese, and scalp acupuncture along with Russian reflexology and adapting these techniques to the modern era, and to use modern technology to produce what is now called American Acupuncture.

In 1996 in America, the needles were removed from the "investigative" category to "accepted medical instruments". Studied can insurance companies deny payment for medical acupuncture treatment. There is a bill before Congress with 12 sponsors to allow Medicare to pay for acupuncture treatments. National Institute of Health for the first time, has formed a department of Alternative Health Care to provide the necessary funding for research into alternatives for medical treatment.