Which Diseases Can be Helped by Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used medical procedures in the world. Research shows that acupuncture is beneficial in treating a variety of health conditions. The term acupuncture describes a family of procedures involving stimulation of anatomical points on the body by a variety of techniques. American practices of acupuncture incorporate medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea, and other countries.

Acupuncture can be traced back to the stone age. One of the oldest book with writings on acupuncture dates back to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 220 A.D.). This book explains how sharp instruments (like stone needles) were used to treat pain and diseases. Today well over 50 countries use acupuncture to treat disease and its popularity is continuing to grow

In the past decade, Eastern Medicine has shown a renewed interest in acupuncture. With more than 10,000 articles on acupuncture found on the Library of Medicine's website, the documented benefits of acupuncture include: reduction of pain, improvement in fatigue, improvement in fibromyalgia, headaches, and nausea, successful treatment of obesity, reduced pain and improved function in arthritis, and successful treatment of infertility.

Chinese acupuncture can cure 461 diseases, said an expert with Chinese Acupuncture Clinic Research Center in north China's Tianjin Municipality.Du Yuanhao, 43-year-old doctor, gave the conclusion after four-year's study on the acupuncture functions together with his team.According to Du's findings, most of the diseases to which acupuncture is effective are in the nervous system, the digestive system, the genitourinary system, muscles, bones and skins, such as stroke, diarrhea, enteritis, dementia and skin rashes.
http://www.china.org.cn/english/health/184395.htm

© George T. Lewith M.A., M.R.C.G.P., M.R.C.P.
(Excerpted from Acupuncture: It's Place in Western Medical Science)

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Which Diseases Can be Helped by Acupuncture?
Diseases of the Muscles, Bones and Joints
Sprains
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Headaches
Diseases of the Nervous System
Strokes
The Neuralgias
Anxiety, Depression and Other Nervous Disorders
Nerve Paralysis
Other Nervous Diseases
Indigestion
Stomach Ulcers
Gall Stones
Diarrhea
Piles
Diseases of the Respiratory System
Asthma
Bronchitis
Diseases of the Heart and Blood Vessels
Angina
The Correction of Abnormal Heart Rhythms
Raised Blood Pressure
The Use of Acupuncture in Addiction and Obesity
Obesity
Hard Drug Addiction
Smoking
The Use of Acupuncture in Obstetrics
Foetal Malposition
The Use of Anaesthesia for Labour and Delivery
Acupuncture Anaesthesia

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Which Diseases Can be Helped by Acupuncture?
In the field of acupuncture few good clinical research trials have been completed, and there has also been very poor follow-up assessment of many of the conditions that have been treated by acupuncturists. It is therefore impossible to give a clear idea of the success of acupuncture in some of the conditions which will be mentioned in the following sections.
It is also essential for the reader to recognize two important facts—firstly that acupuncture, like any treatment, is not a guaranteed cure for disease. Some diseases are more successfully treated (by acupuncture), whilst others are less successful, but no disease responds 100 per cent of the time to any form of treatment. Secondly, some of the suggestions that will be made to illustrate the effectiveness of acupuncture, in particular conditions, are no more than educated guesses. Information about the success rate of acupuncture is not available in some areas, and there the only advice that can be given is based on the clinical experience of individual practitioners.

Many of the facts and figures quoted in the following sections are the results of clinical trials carried out in China, so it is worth while mentioning several facts about these 'Chinese trials'. They involve the assessment of a huge number of patients, sometimes up to 10,000, but the published assessments of success and failure are often unclear, and the research is poorly designed. The Chinese also treat their patients for long periods and a stroke patient may receive one hundred or two hundred acupuncture treatments before being declared a success or a failure.

Benefits for Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Chronic Pain, and Infertility
© Elaine Moore

Jan 12, 2007

A study at Mayo Clinic confirmed that acupuncture improves fibromyalgia. Other studies show multiple benefits for patients with various autoimmune disorders.

A recent study from Mayo Clinic showing that acupuncture reduces symptoms of fibromyalgia has brought more awareness to its benefits. Acupuncture is a treatment method that has been practiced for more than 5,000 years in China and other Asian countries. Acupuncture treats disease through the application of fine, thin needles applied in specific locations known as acupoints corresponding with the body's energy paths, which directly affect related organs.

Fibromyalgia and Acupuncture

Fibromyalgia is a potentially disabling disorder suspected of having an autoimmune origin that is characterized by chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain. Accompanying symptoms include fatigue, joint stiffness and sleep disturbances.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota studied 50 fibromyalgia patients who were enrolled in a randomized, controlled acupuncture trial. Subjects received 6 treatments over a three-week period. According to the June 2006 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, symptoms of patients who received acupuncture significantly improved compared with the control group. Researchers concluded that their study lends credence to patients' belief that nontraditional methods may improve their health.

Diseases of the Muscles, Bones and Joints

The muscles, bones and joints are usually called collectively the musculo-skeletal system. When disease or damage occurs to this system it nearly always results in pain, and most people use words such as rheumatism or arthritis to describe this type of pain. Before discussing the effects of acupuncture on such pain, it is important to clarify the conditions that are collectively called 'rheumatic' as some rheumatic diseases respond well to acupuncture whilst others seem to respond less well.

POINTS

Sprains
Sudden injury or sprains usually respond well to acupuncture. The pain resulting from a sprained shoulder will often continue for some days or weeks after the initial injury. Once a clear diagnosis has been made acupuncture can usually be used to relieve this type of pain. Many of these 'acute pains' represent a self-limiting disease process; for instance a small burn is usually excruciatingly painful for a few days and then settles. If acupuncture is used as a form of pain relief for burns then its 'pain relieving' effect is only required for a few days.

Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis and the rheumatic pains that result from this type of joint damage, are quite a common problem. A great deal of research work has been done to investigate the effects of acupuncture on the pain caused by osteoarthritis. Some of this work is excellent but, for a variety of technical reasons, some is poor. Clinical trials have been completed on knee, hip, elbow, neck and lower back pain, and the information from these trials shows that significant pain relief can be achieved in about 70 per cent of those who receive acupuncture.

Headaches
Headaches can be due to a multitude of factors; arthritis of the neck, dental problems, sinusitis, stress and tension, and head injury are a few of the many causes. Acupuncture therapy for headaches may cause the headaches to vanish completely, or occur with a markedly decreased intensity and/or frequency. The pain relief resulting from acupuncture can sometimes be maintained for some years and re-treatment is usually required less frequently for headaches: than for other conditions such as osteoarthritis.

Strokes
A stroke is caused by a disturbance of the blood supply to the brain. The blood vessels that normally supply blood to the brain can be compromised by becoming blocked or bleeding.Both scalp and body acupuncture are techniques that can be used to aid recovery from a stroke. The research work so far completed suggests that acupuncture increases the blood supply to the brain, and for some unexplained reason this seems to improve functional ability and acts as a stimulus to recovery after a stroke.

The Neuralgias
The neuralgias are a collection of poorly understood and frequently painful conditions.
Trigeminal neuralgia usually presents with severe unilateral facial pain. Its cause is unclear but the painful facial spasms are often precipitated by cold or wind. The Chinese claim to be able to gain some improvement, with acupuncture, in about 70 per cent of cases of trigeminal neuralgia.

Anxiety, Depression and Other Nervous Disorders
It is difficult to be objective about the treatment of disorders such as anxiety and depression, as the problems themselves are difficult to assess objectively, and therefore no good clear figures are available about their treatment with acupuncture. In spite of this, many acupuncturists, including the Chinese, treat a wide range of 'mental disorders' with acupuncture. Many people have stated that acupuncture is clearly effective in helping symptoms such as insomnia and bed-wetting, and can also create a feeling of general well-being.

Nerve Paralysis
Chinese research workers claim that acupuncture can be used to treat the symptoms of spina bifida, such as incontinence, although no claim has been made that acupuncture can affect the anatomical abnormality. Traumatic paralysis, due to accidental destruction of the nervous system, can also be treated by a variety of acupuncture techniques. The acupuncture must be continued for a long period, sometimes daily for six months, but the results from some of the Chinese work are encouraging. They claim that some 50-60 per cent of patients are likely to gain significant return of function if treated with acupuncture, but it is wise to remember that a good number of these injuries would allow the spontaneous recovery of significant function. Facial paralysis (Bell's palsy) is a disease of sudden onset that causes one side of the face to lose muscular power; the cause of this is unknown. Acupuncture and moxibustion can be used to treat this and the Chinese claim a 75 per cent complete recovery rate but, again, this disease allows a significant percentage of spontaneous recovery.

Other Nervous Diseases
Acupuncture has been claimed to be effective in Parkinson's disease, nerve deafness, and a large variety of other problems. Some of these claims are far from proven (or disproven), but it is always wise to remember that acupuncture is a harmless technique and can sometimes give excellent results where other medical methods have failed.

Stomach Ulcers
In China acupuncture is the treatment of choice for stomach ulcers, and ulcers certainly do heal after acupuncture. Duodenal ulcers are associated with a high acid level in the stomach. It is unclear exactly how much this factor affects the development of duodenal ulcers, but it is fair to say that high acid levels are a factor in ulcer development. Research work by Chinese physiologists has shown, quite clearly, that acupuncture can reduce the acidity of the stomach and this may be one of the mechanisms by which acupuncture heals stomach ulcers and other digestive diseases.

Gall Stones
A large volume of work has been published by the Chinese about the effects of acupuncture on the gall bladder. It would seem that acupuncture can cause the discharge of quite large gall stones in the faeces, obviating the necessity for most operations to remove the gall bladder.

Diarrhea
Diarrhea is a symptom that can be indicative of a variety of diseases; it may be caused by an infection (dysentry), an inflammatory process (colitis), stress or dietary indiscretion. Sometimes no clear cause can be found for irregular bowel habits and these ill-defined problems are usually called 'irritable bowel syndrome'. Studies on bowel infections, completed in China, show that acupuncture affects the natural history of this disease. The Chinese report that recovery is quicker, and complications less frequent, if acupuncture is given in this condition.

Asthma
Acupuncture causes the contracted muscular walls to dilate; the mechanism of this is unknown, but there is good Western research data to support this claim. A recent Chinese clinical trial on asthma showed that some 70 per cent of asthmatics gained a 'good effect' from a course of acupuncture and moxibustion (about ten treatments) once a year. The acupuncture treatment was able to decrease the frequency and intensity of asthmatic attacks over a period of a year. This result is encouraging as it shows that acupuncture and moxibustion can affect the response of the body to the environmental stimuli causing asthmatic attacks.

Bronchitis
Acupuncture cannot rebuild lung tissue, but by opening up the breathing tubes it can allow the remaining lung tissue to function efficiently. The mechanism of acupuncture in bronchitis is probably much the same as in asthma, allowing more air to enter the lungs. Recent Chinese work has shown that about 50 per cent of bronchitics 'benefit' from acupuncture.

Diseases of the Heart and Blood Vessels
Angina
Using sophisticated measuring equipment the Chinese have completed a variety of trials to assess the effects of acupuncture on the heart, and they have shown a marked increase in the functional ability and efficiency of the heart muscles after acupuncture.
Acupuncture helps heart patients
http://tinyurl.com/45hl6r

The Use of Acupuncture in Addiction and Obesity
A large number of Western acupuncturists are using a variety of acupuncture techniques to treat obesity, smoking and hard drug addiction. There is some excellent physiological and clinical evidence to support the use of acupuncture in these areas. The withdrawal symptoms experienced by people giving up smoking, or drugs, can be alleviated by raising the levels of endorphins in the nervous system1 Some people believe that the desire to eat is also mediated by the endorphin level in the brain. It is clear that endorphin levels throughout the nervous system can be increased by acupuncture.

Obesity
Acupuncture seems to relieve the problem of hunger usually created by dieting. Many people who receive acupuncture to help with weight loss also go on a diet at the same time. It is difficult to assess exactly which factors are responsible for weight loss, the acupuncture or the diet, or both in combination. Most acupuncturists claim that 40-50 per cent of their patients experience some significant weight loss (about ten pounds) during treatment.

Smoking
It is claimed that ear acupuncture helps about 40 per cent of people to give up smoking over a period of about six months. Again, it is essential to be well motivated before embarking on a course of treatment. Acupuncture does seem to decrease the desire to smoke and also to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms produced by abstinence from tobacco.

Parkinson’s
The symptoms of Parkinson’s can be controlled with acupuncture, and at best its progress halted. Chinese herbs may also be needed and generally speaking these can be given along with Western medication. The sooner the treatment is started after its onset, the better the results. Dietary and lifestyle changes may also be necessary.

Meniere's disease
Cure was defined as complete disappearance of clinical symptoms with no recurrence within two years. Marked effect was defined as disappearance of clinical symptoms but slight recurrence within one year. No effect was defined as no obvious or marked improvement in clinical symptoms. Based on these criteria, 13 cases were considered cured, another four experienced a marked effect, and only one patient got no effect. Therefore, the total effectiveness rate using this protocol on this group of patients was 94.4%.
Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Nov, 2003 by Honora Lee Wolfe

Periodontal (gum) disease
http://tinyurl.com/4xx96t
If you have been told you have periodontal (gum) disease, you're not alone. An estimated 80 percent of American adults currently have some form of the disease.
The Chinese herbal patent formula, Huang Lien Shang Ching Pian, is excellent for gum inflammation and pain. It can also protect against infection. Chuan Xin Lian can help fight infection of the gums as well.

Alzheimer Disease
In addition to destroying cognitive function, Alzheimer disease (AD) often causes symptoms of agitation, frequently the reason for institutionalization. Behavioral and pharmacological therapies are not always reliable; therefore, an effective complementary modality such as acupuncture could be helpful. The improvement in agitation in the acupuncture group was consistent with the known effects of acupuncture on the central nervous system. A larger randomized trial is needed to generalize any of these findings to the clinical arena.

Of all traditional healing methods, acupuncture is the most widely accepted in the West - with 2,000 years of history and significant recent compelling evidence that its theories are wonderfully effective. Stimulation of acupressure is now a common treatment for a variety of painful conditions.

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Acupuncture Is Easy

Energy from our internal organs is said to circulate around the body through channels called meridians. Imbalances of energy within these meridians indicate illness.

Stimulating selected acupuncture points on these meridians, using needles or electrical pulses, is said to restore the balance of energy and promote a return to health.

This practice has used all electrical stimulation methods for the past fifteen years, instead of using needles for all body and ear treatments. This treatment method is just as effective as acupuncture using needles, but it is painless, it is completely safe, and there are no problems with infection or tissue damage.

Electro-acupuncture is the term used to describe the selection and application of these special electrical currents to specific acupuncture points situated on the meridians lines, or situated on the outer surface of the ear, in order to correct energy imbalances, release specific neuro-transmitters and promote a return to health

Is it easy to use?
Yes, extremely easy to use. Step by step instructions are provided with every machine.