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AcupunctureThe Art of Healing with Needles

What is Acupuncture?

• Strategic placement of needles to stimulate acupoints on meridians to restore proper flow of Qi and Blood and balance of Yin and Yang to cure disease.

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• Ancient Chinese Medicine

• ~3000 years ago

• Western Modified Chinese Medicine

• Development of Meridians

• Adapted from humans and horses

Learning the Language• Qi (Chi)

• Life force within the body

• “where there is qi there is life”

• Needs to be full, flowing, and communicating

to have life without disease

• Blood• Contains and circulates Qi

• Nourishes and moistens body

• Meridian• Pathways through which Qi and Blood flow

and communicate within the body

• Governs it’s own system; all systems connect

• Stagnation• Lack of flow; causes pain and disease

Qi is carried by the blood and moves along meridians.

Yin and YangUnder heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil.

Therefore having and not having arise together.Difficult and easy complement each other. Long and short contrast each other;High and low rest upon each other;Voice and sound harmonize each other;Front and back follow one another.

--Lao Tsu, “Two” of Tao Te Ching

Yin Yang Theory• Yin and Yang Theory

• Explanation for natural phenomena

• Yin• Cold

• Female

• Night

• Dark

• Blood

• Liver

• Yang• Warm

• Male

• Day

• Light

• Qi

• Gallbladder

Meridians “Body Systems”

• Lung/ Large Intestine

• Spleen/Stomach

• Heart/Small intestine

• Pericardium/Triple Heater

• Liver/ Gallbladder

• Kidney/ Urinary Bladder

“Circadian Flow of Qi”

2 hour increments

Flow of Qi

Five Element Theory

• Five Elements• Earth

• Worry

• GI and Mouth

• Metal

• Grief/Sadness

• Lung and skin

• Water

• Fear

• Kidney and Bone

• Wood

• Anger

• Liver and Eyes

• Fire

• Joy

• Heart and Speech

Heart

Spleen

LungKidney

Liver

TCVM Diagnosis

• History, history, history!

• Physical exam

• Pulse

• Tongue

• Organ system

• Deficiency or Excess

• Interior or Exterior

• Cold or Hot

• Damp or Dry

Eye

Ears

Nose

Lung

Large Intestine

Stomach

Spleen

Heart

Small Intestine

Bladder

Kidney

Pericardium

The Triple Heater

Gall Bladder

Liver

The Du Channel

The Ren Channel(Conception Vessel)

What is Acupuncture?

• Strategic placement of needles to stimulate acupoints on meridians to restore proper flow of Qi and Blood and balance of Yin and Yang to cure disease.

What is an acupoint?

• Shu Xue

• Shu= transporting, or communicating

• Xue= depression or hole

• In Western terms Acupoints are:

• Nerve endings

• Small blood vessels

• Lymphatics

How does it work?

Needles are placed at specific/strategic points on the meridian(s) to open the flow of Qi.

• 3 primary effects of acupuncture• 1- Nervous System Stimulation

• 2- Immune regulation

• 3- Reproductive/Hormonal regulation

Dis-ease or malfunction of all organ/organ system/body/mind/soul is considered to be due to lack of energy flow due to deficiency stagnation, or excess.

Analogy of the channels/meridians being equivalent of aqueducts carrying water to crops. Over time for any number of reasons soil/sand/dirt begins to flow into the channels blocking the flow of water. If there is a difficult flow of water, plants will dry up and die on all sides where water has built up due to lack of flow. The blockage creates a stagnation or excess and the standing water drowns the plants…

We come in with a shovel (our acupuncture needles) to dig out the soil and reopen the channel to free the flow of Qi and reestablish function.

From a conventional perspective, needling stimulates numerous neural hormonal releases for healing in all body systems: neural, endocrine & immune.

How does it work?

Nerve Stimulation •Pain control

Immune Regulation

•Anti-inflammatory

Hormonal Regulation •Balancing

Nerve Stimulation

• Pain control

• Stimulating an acupoint quiets nerve fibers that carry the chronic pain sensation

• De Qi

• Endorphin release

• Serotonin release

• Endogenous opioid release

• Muscle relaxation and relief of spasm

Immune Regulation

• Anti-inflammatory

• Micro-inflammation of vessels anti-inflammatory mediators and cells to resolve inflammation

• Increases WBC titer

Hormonal Regulation

• Balancing

• Blood pressure regulation

• Vasodilation

• Stress relief

• Endorphins and serotonin

• Fertility

• Sex hormones and cycles

Who can benefit?

Types of Acupuncture

• Dry needle

• Electro

• Aqua

• Laser

What can it be used for?• Pain control

• OA

• DJD

• Injury

• Neuropathy

• IVDD/FCE

• Ataxia/Primary brain lesions

• Immune Mediated Conditions/ Support

• Allergies

• Cancer

• IBD/Colitis/Megacolon

What can it be used for?

• Behavior

• Anxiety and fear

• Endocrinopathies

• Cushing’s Disease

• Thyroid disease

• Multimodal therapy• Pairs nicely with Chinese herbal therapy

• 80% success rate with combined approach

• Use with surgery and medication when indicated

Just about everything!

How often should it be done?

• Typically takes 3-5 sessions before we can see physical changes

• Weekly for 3-5 weeks then decrease as needed

• Does depend on condition

To Recap…

• What is it and how does it work?• Strategic placement of needles to balance the body

and restore health

• Who does it benefit?• Everyone!

• Which conditions can it help?• Everything! • But don’t ignore modern medicine!

• How often?• Relief, healing, and maintenance stages

References

www.lieske.com

Resource

Questions?