The acupuncture centre
Covering Sheffield and Rotherham
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A Brief History of Acupuncture

 

 

Acupuncture has been used in China and other Eastern countries for over 2000 years. The first account of acupuncture comes from an ancient Chinese text, dating back to approximately 300 BC, called ‘The Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine'. This text is appropriate reference material even for todays acupuncturists, and still provides much of the theoretical framework by which we practise.

 

Today in China acupuncture is used extensively, alongside orthodox medicine, as a front line medical intervention in hospitals for a wide variety of acute and chronic conditions. Of course we are a long way behind China in this respect as serious study into acupuncture,in the West, has only begun in the last half century or so.

Over the last 40 years the number of traditionally trained qualified acupuncturists in the U.K. has steadily risen from a mere handful to over 2500. The traditional style of acupuncture is not normally currently available on the N.H.S.

 

Most acupuncture available in the UK is TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine style) or is influenced  by TCM.

Japanese acupuncture derives from the same roots as Chinese acupuncture but has evolved its own independant traditions over many centuries. Japanese acupuncture is less widely practiced in the UK.

 

 

 

 

What is Acupuncture?

 

 

Acupuncture as its name implies involves the piercing of the skin with fine needles in order to treat disease. Traditionally the Chinese believed that a person only became ill if his vital energy (qi) became depleted or imbalanced. Qi pervades the universe and our own bodies flowing in a system of meridians beneath the skin (see diagram). To restore health it is important to keep the flow of qi even within these meridians – this can be done by inserting acupuncture needles into points of relative excess or deficiency on the meridian lines. 

 

Symptom control methods of treatment are also sometimes necessary and sometimes this is often as simple as placing a needle in an area close to or related to that of the problem (eg back ache - needle the painful spots on the back)

A traditionally trained acupuncturist is able to assess the state of your meridians and health in a number of ways before actually inserting the needles. In most cases we will use one or more of the following forms of diagnosis during a course of treatment:

 

The effects of acupuncture are instant and in many cases are felt straight away by the patient whilst they are undergoing treatment. This is most obvious for acute symptoms like headache and sore throat and other forms of spontaneous pain. The pain or discomfort can often be felt immediately to lift after the insertion of one or two needles.  

 

 

Tongue diagnosis: The colour, coating, shape of the tongue are checked along with any markings such as cracks and spots to give an indication of general health and the health of bodily organs.
Pulse diagnosis: Chinese pulse diagnosis is a complex art and science. The radial pulse is palpated near the wrist – there are several different qualities that we look for when feeling this pulse (not just the rate), and each can tell us something about your state of health. In addition different positions on the pulse correspond to different organs and meridians. Both the left and right wrists are checked at three different positions and 2 or 3 depths giving a total of up to 18 positions, each relating to particular organs and meridians. Abdominal diagnosis: The abdomen is palpated to check the state of various reflex zones which correspond to particular meridians, organs or structural imbalance.