Understanding Acupuncture

If you want to learn about what acupuncture is and how it works, you need to learn about Traditional Chinese Medicine.

We know that Chinese Medicine has been used for more than 2,000 years. It is a complete medical system that is used to diagnose, treat and prevent a wide range of diseases. Before western medicine (such as anti-biotics, pain killers and anti-depressants) people in ancient China used Chinese Medicine to help them prevent their illnesses.

Within this medical system, there are many elements that need to be considered:

·       Yin and Yang

·       Twelve organs

·       Fourteen channels

·       Qi

·       Blood

·       Body Fluids

·       Spirit (a person’s mental state)

·       Pulse

·       Tongue

·       And many more!

As well as these body systems, a good practitioner will also want to find out what other external factors impact on your health.  These include; childhood upbringing, trauma, work, family, relationship, diet and exercise.

There are many forms of Chinese Medicine treatment. Acupuncture is the most well-known and the most widely used in the Western world. Other forms of treatment are; Chinese herbs, Cupping, Gua Sha, Moxibustion, Tuina, Qigong and so on. In China, herbs has always been the most popular choice, because of it’s fast effect. Having had both Chinese herbs and acupuncture treatment myself on the regular basis, I can honestly say that acupuncture is just as effective. In many cases, my patients experienced an instant relief.

Traditionally, acupuncturists were bare-foot doctors in China. There have been different ‘schools’ for different styles of acupuncture developed throughout history. Since 1970s, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Acupuncture is the most widely used style in modern China. These other popular styles you might hear in the UK include; Five Element Acupuncture, Stems and Branches Acupuncture, Japanese Acupuncture and Korean Acupuncture.

At Body Zest Clinic, I combine both TCM and Five Element acupuncture in my treatment. Look out for my future blogs which I will talk about the differences between the two styles of acupuncture and why I would prefer one style over the other when treating certain health conditions.