What Is Medical Acupuncture?
Medical acupuncture refers to the integration of classical Chinese acupuncture with the knowledge of Western medicine. This style has evolved from the over 2000 year old tradition practiced in China and Japan. To this, medical acupuncture incorporates techniques developed by Western physicians based on medical research and clinical experience.
What Is the Treatment Like?
The acupuncture treatment consists of inserting fine sterile needles into the body in order to affect the flow of Qi (pronounced ‘chee’), the body’s Vital Energy. Patterns of needle placement, and the points chosen for any one session, are individualized, depending on the goal of therapy. Needles are often placed on the arms and legs to create an energy movement, while points on the trunk, head, and ears may be added to act as focusing points. Points on the trunk, for example, may be chosen to influence certain body organs being treated, or they may be muscular points sensitive to the touch in the region of a reported pain problem.
Needles are inserted to varying depths depending on the nature of the problem being addressed. Patients may feel a dull, achy sensation as the ‘arrival of the Qi’ occurs. The needles are left in place for 5 to 30 minutes. Needles may be stimulated manually, by moxibustion, and by connecting the needles to an electrical stimulation device. Moxibustion refers to warming the needle with a slowly burning moxa stick, composed of dried mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris).
Appointments and Results
Patients are usually scheduled once a week initially, although for some acute injuries, 2 or 3 visits per week may be indicated. When a favorable response lasts for the full week between visits, the interval may be lengthened to a 2-week period. As the response to acupuncture stabilizes the problem, sessions can become less frequent. Many patients with chronic medical problems, even when they respond favorably to acupuncture, will typically require maintenance treatments, ranging from monthly to every 3 months.
During initial sessions, any change in the patient’s symptoms is considered favorable. A transient worsening of symptoms can occur, but again, is looked at as a favorable sign, in that the movement of Qi has been affected. If no response to the initial treatment occurs, it may mean the acupuncture input was not strong enough, that the treatment design needs modification, that the problem is so deep seated that it requires several treatments to be influenced, or that the problem may not be accessible through an acupuncture input.
Treatments are cumulative in their benefit. Enduring improvement in symptoms over time is the goal of therapy. Though improvement can be approximated after 6 to 8 sessions, the lasting response often requires a full schedule of 12 visits. Patients will often report improvement in general well-being and vitality well before a clear change in the presenting problem occurs, often after the first several visits. But in difficult, long-seated problems, where reasonable hope for acupuncture response exists, it is best to complete the initial 12 acupuncture sessions before reassessing the patient’s progress.
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