History of Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the procedure of inserting and manipulating needles into various meridian points on the body for therapeutic purposes. The earliest written record of acupuncture is in the second century BCE Chinese medical text.

For thousand of years, Chinese doctors have been practice acupuncture and natural herbal medicines to cure many different diseases and health problems.

In China, the practice of acupuncture can perhaps be traced back as far as the Stone Age. Acupuncture was practiced along with moxibustion.

Today acupuncture has spread from China to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and even to the West.

How Acupuncture Works

Traditional Chinese medicine is based on a pre-scientific parading of medicine that developed over several thousand of years. With Traditional Chinese medicine, the body is treated as a whole. Health is explained as a state of balance between the yin and yang forces. All symptoms related to body can be ascribed to either of these forces. Acupuncturist or traditional Chinese medicine doctors all try to strike a balance in your body to restore your health. Depending on the decease or symptom, the acupuncturist will apply needles to stimulate the different acupuncture points to strike a balance for the blocked or stagnant.

The classical texts describe most of the main acupuncture points as existing on the twelve main and two of either extra meridians. These are refereed to as “mai” for a total of fourteen channels through which “qi”(enery) and Blood flow.

Local pain is usually treated by applying needles to the tender points where Qi or Blood is believe to have stagnated. Qi is described as flowing through each channel in a continuous circuit.

There are also twelve “zang-fu” on main channels: Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen, Liver and the intangible San Jiao. The zang-fu divided into yin and yang channels with three of each type located on each limb. Once again, depending on the health problem, the acupuncturist will apply needles to the corresponding points in different part of the body.

Diagnosis is very important in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The acupuncturist has to decide which points to treat by observing and questing the patient in order to make a diagnosis according. No two body is the same, therefore, each person may get a slight different in treatments. For example, two people may have the same symptom, however one may fall in the Yin while the other is in the Yang category. The acupuncturist needs to be accurately diagnose in order to apply the treatments.

Today, most acupuncturists use disposable stainless steel needles of fine diameter. All needles are sterilized with ethylene oxide or by autoclave. The needles are so small in diameter that you hardly feel any pain. However, different acupuncture points on the body can be a little more painful.

How Acupuncture Can Help You

Many people have found successful results with acupuncture in different health problems. Some of the more popular areas is pain relief. Pain problems like headaches, stomaches, arthritis, chest pain, migraine, tennis elbow, myofascial pain, fibromyalgia and many other body pains have been successfully cured through acupuncture.

Acupuncture treatments are usually reinforced and complimented with Chinese herbal medicine or other treatments such as cupping and moxibustion in order to provide the most optimal healing process. Acupuncture can treat just about any illnesses and discomforts, especially aches and pains. To learn more about acupuncture and how it can help you, give us a call at 281-558-8989 today or simply use the Quick Contact form to the right.