Acupuncture, description and use

Acupuncture, description and use

A technique practiced by doctors for physical, chemical and psychological rebalancing, which helps to limit the use of drugs and restore a condition of well-being.

acupuncture

Acupuncture is a discipline based on  skin stimulation with needles and heat according to the physiological and energy parameters of traditional Chinese medicine which also identify energy channels in the body along with physical ones. Let’s find out better.

  • What is acupuncture
  • Origins
  • Benefits and contraindications
  • For whom is  acupuncture useful
  • The seat
  • The law in Italy and abroad
  • Curiosities about acupuncture

 

What is acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient therapeutic path belonging to the corpus of Traditional Chinese Medicine . The discipline involves the insertion of some needles in specific points of the human body.

The state of disease, according to Chinese medicine, is often associated with poor qi circulation , resulting in an accumulation or lack of energy between parts of the body. With the positioning of thin needles along the axis of specific meridians, acupuncture acts on the energy balance of the individual, restoring it to promote the state of well-being.

Origins of Acupuncture

The acupuncture treatment method has very ancient origins, dating back more than ten thousand years. Under the Ming dynasty , acupuncture reached its heyday.

Appreciated and then shared by the Jesuits in the seventeenth century, it was popularized thanks to the work of G. Sulier de Morant , a French diplomat. In modern times in China Mao Tse Tung  has made acupuncture official, allowing the use of this methodology even in the hospital.

Scientific research on acupuncture began  in the 1950s , aimed at clarifying the findings between the practice and the new discoveries on cells, biochemistry and related structures.

Even in Western countries, acupuncture is beginning to be considered a highly respected and effective methodology, so much so that post-graduate training courses for doctors are activated.

Benefits and contraindications of acupuncture

Skin stimulation through needles and heat is an effective remedy against multiple ailments: insomnia , headaches , acne , psoriasis , stress , depression and infertility .

Recently, acupuncture is seeing major successes in the fight against addiction . More and more people are turning to acupuncture to quit smoking or to control nervous hunger while dieting.

In fact, by stimulating a precise point, the specialist’s needle cancels that irrepressible desire that tempts those who are trying to resist the need to smoke or eat compulsively.

Acupuncture can release energy blocks or reduce excesses that decompensate the balance of movements (elements) described in Chinese Medicine.

Often a stomach problem can be generated by an excess or defect of the Heart energy , just to give an example of how the connections are very structured and not trivial.

Acupuncture treats the cause of the symptom and acts on multiple levels, physical, chemical and mental.
More and more doctors are applying it to patients with conditions linked to chronic psychosomatic syndromes, who find it difficult to return with drugs alone.

Panic attacks , pre-menstrual syndrome , Crohn’s disease ,myalgias of various kinds , disorders related to menopause find particular results with acupuncture.

However, acupuncture has important contraindications if it is not performed according to the parameters. Compared to other methodologies, it can have counterproductive effects if the meridian maps are not thoroughly known and if one does not proceed with a correct anamnesis of the energy dynamics.

Today there are disposable needles that guarantee correct sterilization to avoid possible infections. The advice is to ascertain the professional level of the therapist.

For whom it is useful 

An acupuncture treatment is particularly useful for those who have to take many drugs for chronic pathologies or for those who have problems related to taking specific pharmacological aids. Pregnant women also

fall into this category , a period in which the use of medicines is generally not recommended.

Acupuncture facilitates the natural metabolic process and restores it in case of alterations; for this reason it has excellent results in the sports and athletic sector .

In summary, acupuncture is useful in case of:

  • Muscle and joint pains
  • Digestive difficulties
  • Intestinal disorders such as constipation, colitis
  • Gynecological disorders
  • Allergies
  • Respiratory disorders
  • Food disorders
  • Dermatological disorders
  • Addictions
  • Chronic pain such as fibromyalgia
  • Anxiety and Depression

Acupuncture is also used in the veterinary field. Holistic care on horses has reported important remission results from muscle and joint problems.

The Acupuncture Session

The duration is commensurate with the patient’s problems and treatment times, on average it can last about 30 minutes. The number of needles varies from 6 to 12 with different degrees of penetration.

The treatment cycle includes several sessions that must be checked with the acupuncturist and with the body’s reaction to the therapy.

Acupuncture treatment is an intervention , so to speak , tailored , linked to the subject and not responding to absolute parameters. The typical question is “ will it be painful? “. Sometimes it can be, but a bearable pain generally defined as discomfort that is noticeable only when the needle is inserted.

 

The law in Italy and abroad

Regulations for  acupuncturists , licensing and education vary by country. In Italy, acupuncture can only be practiced by doctors of medicine and veterinary medicine :  it is in all respects a specialization.

Whoever practices it without this requirement commits an unlawful act  punishable by law (judgment of the Court of Cassation, 1982). Anyone who has been trained abroad in medicine must take the state exam in Italy to be able to practice acupuncture. This does not mean that even the doctor has to follow a precise training, not being able to improvise as an acupuncturist.

The World Federation Acupuncture Society ( WFAS ) brings together over 80 associations from 42 countries.

In 1976, the World Health Organization gave full recognition to the International Acupuncture Training Centers .

The best known are found in Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing and Korea. Recently, European Advanced Training Courses in acupuncture-moxibustion have been recognized in France, England, Holland, Belgium and Italy.

In our country these are promoted by various certified bodies such as the AMAB, Association of Bolognese Acupuncturists Doctors, the SOWEN school of Milan, an agreement with the Humanitas group, the Traditional Acupuncture School of Florence, to name a few located in different cities.

Acupuncture Santagostino> the acupuncture clinic 

 

Curiosities about acupuncture

According to data reported online by the Italian Acupuncture Association , there are about 6 million Italians who use needles every year for the most diverse reasons and, according to the data that emerged from a recent meeting promoted by the Italian Society of Pharmacognosy ( Siphar ), they would be about 12 thousand acupuncturists, a number that places Italy in third place after China and Japan.

 

Who is the acupuncturist and what does he do?

Other articles on acupuncture:

  • Acupuncture for neck pain

  • The benefits of the Swedish mat

  • Acupuncture for trauma and stress

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