Acupuncture
 |
| acupuncture photo, Acupuncture needles in woman's back |
Acupuncture is a component of the health care system of
China that can be traced back at least 2,500 years. The general theory of
acupuncture is based on the premise that there are patterns of energy flow through
the body that are essential for health. Disruptions of this flow are believed
to be responsible for disease. Acupuncture may, it has been theorized, correct
imbalances of flow at identifiable points close to the skin.
The practice of acupuncture to treat identifiable path
physiological (disease) conditions in American medicine was rare until the
visit of President Richard M. Nixon to China in 1972. Since that time, there
has been an explosion of interest in the United States and Europe in the
application of the technique of acupuncture to Western medicine.
Acupuncture is a family of procedures involving stimulation
of anatomical locations on or in the skin by a variety of techniques. There are
a variety of approaches to diagnosis and treatment in American acupuncture that
incorporates medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea, and other countries.
The most thoroughly studied mechanism of stimulation of acupuncture points
employs penetration of the skin by thin, solid, metallic needles, which are
manipulated manually or by electrical stimulation.
