What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is only a very small branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM encompasses far more possibilities than acupuncture alone. Also, acupuncture as we know it is often very much influenced by Western ways of looking at things. Although acupuncture in particular has risen in popularity in the West, it only makes up 15% of all therapeutic methods of TCM.

TCM regards humans as a microcosm within the macrocosm of the environment. TCM has nothing to do with mysticism, but rather exemplifies empirical and observational therapeutics that are based on the observation of nature and follow guidelines that can be studied and verified. The basis for this is a solid knowledge of ancient Chinese concepts of health, sickness, and pathogenesis. Every TCM treatment (e. g., with Chinese medicinal herbs or a special diet) is based on detailed observation and well-based diagnosis. It follows guidelines both of Western medicine and traditional Chinese rules. TCM’s strength lies not only in its holistic approach to healing, but primarily in its regulative and prophylactic aspects.

Acupuncture is one of the most fascinating concepts of healing which human inventiveness has come up with outside of the Western medical tradition. Zhen jiu, the Chinese term for acupuncture, means “to stick and to burn,” which indicates the use of a needle in connection with the warming of acupuncture points (moxibustion).

Needle acupuncture is the mode of acupuncture therapy known in the West. Moxibustion is used far less here than it is in China. According to Chinese tenets, acupuncture and moxibustion form an inseparable unit.

  Acupuncture Arrives in Europe

The first accounts of acupuncture in Europe can be traced back to the 17th century, when they arrived from China via trade routes. Until the mid-19th century, acupuncture was conducted as a simple needle pricking without consideration for Chinese fundamental principles. Only since the mid-20th century has acupuncture been practiced increasingly in line with the principles of Chinese medicine. In Europe, the first scientific studies began in the 1960s. Prof. Bischko of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute at the University of Vienna was especially renowned in the field of acupuncture.

There are obstacles for acupuncture to overcome before it can be integrated into Western medicine, because the Chinese conception of the world cannot effortlessly be transcribed into our system of medicine. It is based on the idea of balance, the harmonious relationship between the so-called five elements, and between the polarities of yin and yang. The five phase theory and the concept of yin and yang were initially philosophical concepts used to describe the universe. They were later utilized to describe all processes inside the body. The application of the five phase theory to the concepts of the evolution of human life, physiology, pathology, and pathogenesis can be found as early as 230 BC in the classic textbook on internal medicine—the so-called Nei Jing.

  Acupuncture as a Regulatory Therapy

Acupuncture is a holistic therapy mode, because it has an effect on the location of the therapeutic stimulus as well as on the entire organism. The “energetic equilibrium” that is observed by TCM is called stimulation therapy in holistic medicine. This refers to the ability of acupuncture to balance the disharmonic functions of the organism by applying appropriate stimulation.

Acupuncture is especially effective when combined with other therapies. It also works well when used to complement the therapeutic approaches of conventional medicine. Even in ancient China, acupuncture was rarely used as a monotherapy. The combination of acupuncture and other therapeutic approaches frequently offers lasting relief and freedom from symptoms, especially in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.

Unfortunately, the past few years have shown an increasing tendency toward a rather careless application of acupuncture. The lack of side effects in acupuncture tempts some practitioners into using acupuncture without following a strict diagnosis (“it won’t do any harm”). This approach needs to be rejected, as it wrongfully discredits acupuncture, while preventing the application of other methods that might be more beneficial to the patient.

Acupuncture is not suitable for treating the cause of organ lesions, malignant growths, severe psychiatric conditions, or acute life-threatening conditions. Furthermore, contraindications need to be taken into consideration.

By observing the following rule:

many established indications for acupuncture therapy can be derived. At the same time it keeps unreasonable expectations and improper application of the method at bay.

Acupuncture removes disturbances of vital movement by dissolving stagnations and blockages; it redirects or diverts blood, body fluids, heat, and energy. Acupuncture therapy rebalances the energy between different areas of the body, on the surface of the body, as well as between external and internal parts of the body. It restores internal balance and influences visceral organs by applying stimuli at the body’s surface.

The Basics of TCM

TCM regards a human being as a system of functional networks. Ancient Chinese philosophy represents pre-Confucian and Taoist concepts. According to these concepts, nothing exists by itself isolated from others. Instead, everything always exists in reciprocal relationships and, thus, is subject to continuous dynamic change. In the understanding of the nature-based philosophy practiced by ancient Chinese physicians, man is an integral part of nature, constantly interacting with his environment. Like nature, he is subject to dynamic cycles and periodic developmental phases. To the Chinese, these transformations were manifestations of the laws of nature, called tao.

  Tao

The Chinese word tao cannot be translated. Terms like “way,” “sense,” “pathway,” or “regulation” only partially reflect the meaning of tao. Tao describes all of earth’s processes as systematically connected and interrelated. This “order” is not static but dynamic, and keeps forming itself anew.

The human organism is a classification system that follows the same laws as the rest of nature. Man must live in harmony with nature to protect himself and nature from damage. It is the responsibility of the physician to ensure that this takes place in the proper way. Thus, the main function of physicians in ancient China was to teach people about correct lifestyle, to prescribe diets in harmony with the seasons and the times of day, and to prevent diseases from forming by incorporating preventative measures.

Physicians were remunerated only for the preservation of health. In cases of serious illness, treatment was free of charge. The concept of tao was the starting point for the development of a holistic diagnosis or holistic therapy and today represents the commonly used term “holism.” The term tao is also closely connected to the idea of transformation and change. It forms the basis of the Chinese concept of disease, as well as the theory of the phases and types of a disease.

Life Force Qi

The idea of a life force qi originates in the tao. Qi is energy, function, information, and substrate. Qi is a combination of prenatal or original qi, grain qi, and air qi. They form the true or normal qi. Applying modern medical understanding, the life force qi can be compared to the combination of genetics, metabolism, neurophysiology, immunology, and endocrinology.

Qi holds yin and yang, the pair of opposites. Only the union of yin and yang forms the all-encompassing harmony, the harmony within a constantly changing whole.

Yin is substance, builds up, is passive, stores, and is symbolic of the feminine. In Western medicine, yin represents parenchymatous organs, which store or produce vital substances such as blood. The storage organs are kidneys, lungs, spleen, pancreas, and heart.

Yang is active, is function, gives, and represents the masculine. In regard to the body, yang represents hollow organs such as the intestines, gallbladder, and urinary bladder, which handle the reception, transport, and secretion of nutrients.

In TCM, the aforementioned organs are not only represented by their anatomical structures, but also by interconnected functional networks and spheres. The transformation phases with complex functions and tasks are derived from these networks and spheres.

Five Phases

The knowledge and understanding of the five phases is essential for medical practice. This knowledge provides an explanation for the formation and origin of disorders and diseases, as well as for the order in which a disharmony appears and should be treated (creation sequence and overcoming sequence, the sheng cycle and the ko cycle). Each of the five phases is assigned certain aspects, for example, planets, directions, times of day, seasons, colors, sounds, emotions, smells, tastes, the organs of the human body, the senses, tissues, and functions.

If the all-creating life force qi is disturbed by pathogenic factors from the “outside” or the “inside” and an imbalance of qi occurs, energy stagnation, energy vacuity, energy repletion results. Environmental influences that affect the person (macrocosm) or internal, emotional influences (microcosm) can be the pathogenic factors. These influences can only cause disorder or disease in a weakened person whose qi is already impaired. In order to get to the origin of the imbalance, the Chinese diagnosis puts special emphasis on the exploration of the exact case history, the examination of the tongue, and pulse palpation. In practice, acupuncture affects the energetic imbalance through a therapeutic stimulus or “needle prick.” The stimulation takes place at exactly defined points that are connected by way of the so-called channels or channels. The energy flow of the body circulates in these channels.

  Concepts of TCM

The concept of TCM includes:

These six aspects form the pillars of TCM. They can be applied to all TCM treatments: Herbal treatments, the movement therapies qi gong and tai ji quan, Chinese massage (tui na massage), as well as Chinese dietetics. Terms such as yin and yang, the zang fu organs, or the description of the life force qi may seem unusual to the Western scientific mind, but they are of vital importance for the understanding of Chinese medicine. Regrettably, the Western world is in the habit of neglecting the study of TCM concepts and often indiscriminately employs acupuncture as well as other methods of TCM. Thus, important correlations are often not recognized—resulting in diagnostic and therapeutic errors. For example, scientific research shows that the point combination for birth preparation is considerably less effective when based on Western concepts than on the Chinese selection of points.

  The Theory of Yin and Yang

The big circle symbolizes the unity. The dark area represents the yin and the light area represents the yang. The oppositely colored point in each area signifies that yin is nascent in yang and vice versa. Both aspects originate in this way. The curved dividing line is considered mobile and illustrates the constant transformation of yin and yang and their mutually varying dependency. In this dynamic system, one of the components grows to the same extent to which the other component diminishes. According to Chinese belief, change never moves in one direction only, as evolution does, for example. Rather, it is a movement that always returns to its starting point and needs to be understood as a sequence of recurring conditions and events in nature and in humans. The supposed change between yin and yang conditions is exemplified by the cyclical course of natural phenomena, as well as in the human organism.

The concept of yin-yang led to a systematization of the empirical knowledge of TCM. Chinese medicine associates everything with the concept of yin and yang, including body regions, organs, functions, body types, patterns of behavior, and all other phenomena. The occurrence of disorders and the course of disease processes are explained by the changing appearance of yin and yang patterns. The yin and yang theory provides medicine with four important rules:

1.  The principle of opposites: The continuous struggle and the constant transformation between yin and yang advance the formation of all things, signifying life (life energy).

2.  The principle of dependency: Yang exists through yin and yin exists through yang. Each one forms the basis of existence for the other, and together they represent life as such. Yang represents man; yin represents woman. Reproduction and the survival of the species would not be possible without yin and yang, man and woman.

3.  The principle of complement and limit: As yang decreases, yin increases and vice versa. Within the human organism, the yin-yang rhythm, for example, corresponds to the 24-hour biorhythm of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system, or to the course of the 28-day female cycle.

Yang cannot exist without its corresponding counterpart yin and neither the yin or yang element should ever be superior or inferior to the other. A balanced relationship between yin and yang characterizes the ideal state of harmony and balance in the organism. Yin and yang also represent relative concepts. An example from TCM: The organs of the human body are divided into yin organs and yang organs. The parenchymatous (solid) organs, heart, kidney, liver, lung, spleen, and pancreas, belong to yin, while the functional (hollow) organs, small intestine, bladder, stomach, gallbladder, and large intestine, belong to yang. All viscera are located in the interior of the body; the interior of the body, in contrast to the outer layers of the body, belongs to yin. This means that yang organs can be located in the actual yin layer, the interior.

Repletion and vacuity can also be observed easily in the gynecological treatment of pain (dysmenorrhea). In some patients, warmth considerably alleviates discomfort. Others experience the attempt to use warmth for alleviation of menstrual cramps as unpleasant, or even experience a worsening of symptoms. In regard to vacuity and repletion, cases with the same diagnosis display individual and constitutional reaction patterns. This is thoroughly explained by TCM and has to be observed in therapy. Midwives and obstetricians aim to keep the pregnant women as “mobile” as possible during birth. In contrast to former times, a decreasing number of births are performed lying down. For a patient with a vacuity condition, the constant movement during birth could possibly increase the labor pains. For a patient with a repletion condition, movement usually eases the labor pains.

  The Five Fundamental Substances

In TCM, the following terms are described as the five substances:

The five fundamental substances should not be confused with the five phases!

Qi (Life Force)

Qi is a theoretical model describing processes of life, vitality, energy, and function. According to TCM, qi circulates continuously inside the body, the organs and the corresponding regions of the body’s surface, the channels, and keeps the circulation going. From a Western perspective, this can be compared best with the biorhythm.