The acupuncture points

The philosophy of Chinese acupuncture explains how the human body is studded with points. These zones are like switches , energy nodes with the function of managing the potential of the whole organism. By intervening on them through appropriate tools and the correct knowledge, the acupuncturist is able to modify the balance of the body and treat various ailments. 

Many of you will have seen, at least once, the acupuncture points represented on some sort of graph of the human body, perhaps on a book or on the wall of your (holistic) doctor’s office. Well, that’s a map . It depicts numerous points on the body where energy, also known as qi , often accumulates . Said in Chinese Xuè (pronounced ‘sciuè’) and Tsubo in Japanese, the original meaning of the name is brought back to the concept of ‘ cave ‘ or ‘ crack ‘.

Most of the acupuncture points are located at the bottom of small depressions that present, to the touch, a particular sensation, according to some almost velvety. These are subjective perceptions linked to the sensitivity and experience of the operator: skin and subcutaneous tissue, in fact, change in consistency with respect to other parts of the body. Physiologically speaking, the acupuncture points correspond to areas with lower electrical conductivity values , supplied with a large number of nerve receptors. As for the patient, it can be said that, often or almost always, acupuncture points are painful or, at least, sensitive to pressure. Generally, in fact, they recognize each other immediately.

Map and itinerary

There are twelve main channels, called meridians , which extend vertically, bilaterally and symmetrically; each channel corresponds and connects internally to each of the twelve organs, called zang fu. This means that there are six yin and six yang channels; there are three yin and three yang channels running on each arm, three yin and three yang on each leg. The three yin channels of the chest (lung, pericardium and heart) start from the chest and travel along the inner face (mainly the anterior portion) of the arm towards the hand. The three yang channels of the hand (large intestine, san jiao and small intestine) start from the hand and travel along the outer face (mainly the back portion) of the arm towards the head. The three yang channels of the foot (stomach, gallbladder and bladder) start from the face, in the eye region and descend along the body along the outer face (mainly the front and side) of the leg, towards the foot. The three yin channels of the foot (spleen,

The flow of qi through each of the twelve channels includes an internal and an external path.
The external route is the one normally shown on the acupuncture map and is relatively superficial. All acupuncture points of a channel reside in its external path.

The surface pathways of the twelve channels describe three complete circuits of the body . The flow of energy through the meridians is as follows: from the “lung” channel of the hand ( taiyin ) to the “large intestine” channel of the hand ( yangming ), passing through the “stomach” channel of the foot ( yangming ), the “spleen channel” “of the foot ( taiyin ), the” heart “channel of the hand ( shaoyin ), the” small intestine “channel of the hand ( taiyang ), the” bladder “channel of the foot ( taiyang ), the” kidney “channel of the foot ( shaoyin ), the “pericardium” channelof the hand ( shaoyang ), the “gallbladder” channel of the foot ( shaoyang ), the “liver” channel of the foot ( jueyin ), and then again to the “lung” channel of the hand ( taiyin ). 

See acupuncture points

For some time, the scientific community has been divided, both over the effectiveness of these pressure points and their existence . In the 1970s, numerous infrared , impedance and scintigraphic studies led to contradictory results. In fact, the acupuncture points are electrically demonstrable, as the electrical resistance of the epidermis is significantly lower at the acupuncture points than the surrounding one. This difference also persists in cadavers and dissected limbs. These points certainly have a lower electrical resistance, but have a higher electrical conductivity.

A team of Chinese scientists seems to have solved the mystery, having found visual proof of the existence of these points. Researchers from Fudan University used a futuristic machine called the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The presence of acupuncture points was highlighted, which emerged as a separate training. In particular, the scientists focused on 4 of them: Sanyinjiao , Neiguan , Zusanli and Tianshu. The X-rays emitted by the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility are 100 million times brighter and 10,000 times more intense than those of the beam produced by a standard X-ray machine. During the test phase of the machine, which lasted nine months, the researchers then discovered that it could detect cancer cells at an early stage.