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What is Acupuncture?
Find out more about Acupuncture, how it works and some of its theories
Acupuncture Overview
In a nutshell, acupuncture is the insertion of very fine needles at specific points on the body. This only explains the procedure but it doesn’t explain what acupuncture really is. Just like the question, what is the meaning of life, we can only explore the ideas around acupuncture and must draw our own conclusions on what is really happening when you receive an acupuncture treatment. There are so many different styles of acupuncture and different theories, and this article will only start to introduce you to those methodologies. It will answer some of your questions on what is involved in an acupuncture treatment, but will not go deep into what is actually happening inside the body during a treatment.
what is an acupuncture point?
Acu Points
An acupuncture point is where an acupuncture needle is inserted into the body below the skin and into the muscle. Acupuncture needles don’t go into bones or organs. An acupuncture point can be located anywhere on the body including the face, neck, head, arms, legs, abdomen. When learning how to perform acupuncture, there are specific acupuncture points which follow traditional Chinese medicine theory, situated along invisible channels throughout the body. Some theories of acupuncture locate points based on nerves and muscle groups.
Traditionally, there are channels which run superficially along the skin and muscles, and then connect to internal channels and organ systems which do not have acupuncture points but can only be stimulated by accessing external points. Think of it like a roadmap, where main city streets are the internal channels and side streets are the superficial channels which have houses. Each house would be an acupuncture point.
what is an acu point?
An acupuncture point is the location an acupuncture needle is inserted into the body below the skin and into the muscle. Acupuncture needles don’t go into bones or organs. An acupuncture point can be located anywhere on the body including the face, neck, head, arms, legs, abdomen. When learning how to perform acupuncture, there are specific acupuncture points which follow traditional Chinese medicine theory, situated along invisible channels throughout the body. Some theories of acupuncture locate points based on nerves and muscle groups.
Traditionally, there are channels which run superficially along the skin and muscles, and then connect to internal channels and organ systems which do not have acupuncture points but can only be stimulated by accessing external points. Think of it like a roadmap, where main city streets are the internal channels and side streets are the superficial channels which have houses. Each house would be an acupuncture point.
Ashi Points
“Ashi” translates to “tender”, and these points may or may not be on a channel or part of a common group on points. They can be anywhere on the body. During an acupuncture treatment, a practitioner may palpate a point on the body and ask if the area is tender. An acupuncture needle may be inserted into the tender spot, even though its not a known acupuncture point.
How do you find acupuncture points?
Practitioners of Chinese Medicine use three common methods to help locate acupuncture points accurately. The first one is anatomical landmarks, the second is bone proportional measurements and the third is finger measurements. Acupuncture
points are found based on its location to existing body structures and using a measuring systems called “cuns”. It’s a
proportional measurement system because each person’s body is a different size. For example, on the exterior part of the leg from the middle of the patella (knee bone) to the external malleolus (ankle bone) there are 16 proportional cuns. Each cun is the same size, but since your leg may be longer than my leg your cuns may be larger in size.
We use structures such as divots in bones, angles from one acupuncture point to another, arm, leg, foot, hand creases, bones, facial features, belly button, and touch.
Example : Antatomical Landmarks on the Head and Face
· Midpoint of the anterior hairline
· Midpoint of the anterior hairline
· Corner of the forehead
· Mastoid Process
· Middle point between the eyebrows
· Pupil of the eye – when looking straight ahead
Bone Measurements
This method uses joints as landmarks to measure the length and wide of various proportions. This method is used in conjunction with methods introduced by various acupuncturists over thousands of years.
Finger Measurement
Used to locate acupuncture points by measuring the distance of a patients fingers. We can use the middle finger measurement, thumb measurement or the 4-finger measurement.
Acupuncture theories
Microsystems
You can take various body parts and perform acupuncture on those body parts only. Common body parts include the Scalp, Ear, Abdomen, and Hand. There are specific theories on each acupuncture microsystems.
Korean Hand Acupuncture
Korean hand acupuncture uses the hand only to place acupuncture needles. There are hundreds of points on the hand only and usually use very small and fine needles to teat the entire body. For a recent study on Korean Hand Acupuncture, click here.
Auricular (ear acupuncture)
The ear has hundreds of points in a very limited location. You treat the entire body just using points on the ear. There is a recorded story from the Egyptians 3000 years ago who treated people with back pain by using a red hot needle on a
point in the ear and the pain vanished. For more detailed information on ear acupuncture, click here
Foot Reflexology
Another common microsystem is foot reflexology, and more commonly used with acupressure instead of acupuncture. Points on the feet are used to treat the entire body.
Scalp Acupuncture
Points on the head and scalp are used to treat the entire body. It is commonly used for stroke victims
Cut and Wound Healing
Acupuncture is all about getting energy to flow properly. Energy is transmitted throughout the body by blood. Blood transports nutrients, glucose, oxygen etc to all the cells in your body. Without adequate blood supply, your cells will die. When you get a cut on your skin, your body immediately sends more blood to the area to start the wound healing process. Your body knows there is a problem, so it sends more blood to fix the problem. When an acupuncture needle is inserted into your body, its like you are getting a very small cut, and the body responds by sending blood to the area. The heat in the blood is considered the Qi, and when there is Qi flow, health is restored.
Nerve Stimulation
There are nerves all over your body. The nerves send signals to and from the brain. There are large central nerves, and then there are much smaller ones connecting every cell of your body to your brain. When a needle is inserted into the skin or muscle, the nerves are stimulated, and send a message back to the brain that there is a problem which needs addressing. It is kind of like ringing a door bell or knocking on the door to alert someone that you are there, and you need help.
River Theory
The theory of Chinese medicine is that there are meridians or energy pathways on the body, which connect to internal and external organ systems. These pathways are like flowing rivers of water. If a river gets blocked it becomes a cesspool and is stagnant water. By inserting needles at specific points, it activates the rivers to flow more smoothly. It does make a lot of sense because
Frequently Asked Questions
Have a Question?
We are here to help you learn more about Acupuncture, please contact us if you have more quesitons
Let us start with what you should not feel, which is pain. Normal sensations include numbness, tingling, moving energy and achy feelings. If you receive acupuncture and feel a lot of pain, you should tell your acupuncturist so they can remove the needle or reposition it. Pain would result from hitting superficial nerves.
You may feel a small prick of pain on some points when they are being inserted, but generally the procedure should be pain free. Due to more sensory neurons being located on the hands and feet, these points are more tender and can elicit some pain during insertion.
All acupuncturists will use sterile needles and if your acupuncturist is re-using needles, its time to find a new acupuncturist. Some practitioners will use gold and silver needles and will re-use these needles due to the cost. Gold and silver acupuncture needles need to be sterilized in an autoclave and marked with the sterilization date. Gold and Silver needles are not commonly used.
If you believe that one treatment will cure all your ails, you are mistaken. It often takes several treatments to see progress with acupuncture. Each patient’s case is different, so its impossible to give an accurate answer to how many treatments it will take. In general, the more chronic your condition to more treatments you will need. Other factors involve include the age of patient, their diagnosis, how often they receive acupuncture and other lifestyle factors. For instance, if you are receiving acupuncture for acid reflux and you continue to eat foods which aggravate the situation, you will require more treatments. When starting out, do a course of at least 10 treatments to determine if you are seeing any results.
