Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient system of healing, developed over thousands of years as part of the traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture is a word of Latin origin wherein ‘acus’ means, needle, and ‘pungere’ refers to prick. Acupuncture by definition is the insertion, manipulation, and removal of needles from the body, and the use of other modalities and procedures at specific locations on the body, for the prevention, cure, or correction of a malady, illness, injury, pain, or other condition or disorder by controlling and regulating the flow and balance of energy and functioning of the patient to restore and maintain health. Acupuncture shall not be considered surgery.
Special needles are inserted into the acupuncture points, which are located just beneath the epidermis. In theory, inserting these needles helps correct the flow of energy within the body and thus restores health.
Acupuncture is based on the belief that health is determined by a balanced flow of Qi, also referred to as "Chi". Qi is circulated through the blood stream via fourteen energy ducts called meridians. Each one of these pathways or channels through which Qi flows is linked to an internal organ system. There are over 1,000 acupuncture points within the meridian system that can be stimulated to enhance the flow of Qi. Acupuncture diagnoses illness by seeking blockages in the body's meridians. By correcting the flow of Qi at a specific meridian, the illness or disease is cured. Acupuncture is also one of the few medical practices that do not involve side effects. The whole fundament of acupuncture is to make whatever is abnormal or sub-normal, normal.
The use of needles is inevitable in Acupuncture. A range of different types of needles is used for specific effect. There are the Filiform Needles, the Embedding Needles, the Plum Blossom Needles, the Three-edged Needles (prismatic) and the Hot Needles. The Embedding needles are also called the Press needles. The thin, usually disposable, needles rarely draw blood, and any discomfort is mild. The practitioners of acupuncture also use heat, pressure, friction, suction, or impulses of electromagnetic energy to stimulate the points. In addition to the classic needles and practice used in Acupuncture, new research and experiments have made some more specialized forms of the medicine popular in recent times. Homeo-puncture is a practice that combines Acupuncture and Homeopathy. In this form of Acupuncture the needle is either dipped in the homeopathy medicine before treating the patient, or the Acupuncture points are sedated by using a syringe with the Homeopathy medicine in it. Another super specialty in Acupuncture is Aqua-puncture. In this form of treatment the acupuncture points are either sedated or stimulated by using a syringe with sterile water. This form of treatment is gaining much popularity and is as effective as the traditional form of acupuncture. The more recent developments in the field of acupuncture have made it less time consuming and much more effective. The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed over 100 disorders that may be amenable to acupuncture treatment, including respiratory, eye, mouth gastrointestinal, neurological, orthopedic, broncho-pulmonary, reproductive, hypertension, insomnia, skin, arthritic, allergic, and addictive disorders. Traditional medicines no longer sit on the sidelines of the world but walk hand in hand with modern science. Acupuncture is thus a Complementary medicine.
The WHO, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Medical Association (AMA) and various government reports have all studied and commented on the efficacy of acupuncture. There is general agreement that acupuncture is safe when administered by well-trained practitioners using sterile needles.

The Meridians

Meridians are imaginary pathways through which the Qi energy of the body is believed to travel. There are in all fourteen meridians. Each meridian travels a specific path under the skin. Traditionally, the internal Organs have never been regarded as independent anatomical entities. Rather, attention has centered upon the functional and pathological interrelationships between the channel network and the Organs. So close is this identification that each of the twelve traditional Primary channels bears the name of one or another of the vital Organs. The Qi travel in a specific direction along the path of the meridians and each meridian is connected to the following one. These meridians are also called Channels. The fourteen meridians are Lung Channel, Large Intestine Channel, Stomach Channel, Spleen Channel, Heart Channel, Small Intestine Channel, Urinary Bladder Channel, Kidney Channel, Pericardium Channel, San Jiao Channel, Gall Bladder Channel, Liver Channel, Du Channel and Ren Channel. For Example: The Lung Meridian is connected to the Large Intestine Meridian and that is connected to the stomach meridian and so on. Every meridian has a number of points along its way. Even though every point on a meridian has its indications and use, there are a few points on every Channel that are more important and commonly used. The twelve primary pathways run vertically, bilaterally, and symmetrically and every channel corresponds to and connects internally with one of the twelve ZangFu("organs"). This means that there are six yin and six yang channels. There are three yin and three yang channels on each arm, and three yin and three yang channels on each leg.
The three yin channels of the hand (Lung, Pericardium, and Heart) begin on the chest and travel along the inner surface (mostly the anterior portion) of the arm to the hand.
The three yang channels of the hand (Large intestine, San Jiao, and Small intestine) begin on the hand and travel along the outer surface (mostly the posterior portion) of the arm to the head.
The three yin channels of the foot (Spleen, Liver, and Kidney) begin on the foot and travel along the inner surface (mostly posterior and medial portion) of the leg to the chest.
The three yang channels of the foot (Stomach, Gallbladder, and Urinary Bladder) begin on the face, in the region of the eye, and travel down the body and along the outer surface (mostly the anterior and lateral portion) of the leg to the foot.