Xu Kailai/Xu Pengshuxia: A brief discussion on acupuncture

Xu Kailai/Xu Pengshuxia: A brief discussion on acupuncture. Many friends of different ages and ethnicities often talk to us about acupuncture treatment and rehabilitation after dinner. have…

Xu Kailai/Xu Pengshuxia: A brief talk on acupuncture. Many friends of different ages and ethnicities often talk to us about acupuncture treatment and rehabilitation after dinner. Some young people and non-Chinese friends say, "I don't dare get acupuncture, it looks scary." "Some elderly people said: "When I was in my hometown, I saw the elders or servants sitting in groups on the steps in the yard doing acupuncture, scraping, bloodletting, etc. "Female friends said that their experience with acupuncture is to treat headaches, menstrual pain, waist, knee and joint pain, etc., and even for weight loss or facial beauty. Now we will briefly introduce to you some of the ins and outs of acupuncture. First, we will introduce the development of acupuncture. Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medical science, which originated in the Neolithic Age. During the Huangdi era, the Huangdi Acupuncture Sutra was handed down as a posthumous work. In the Tang Dynasty, acupuncture was listed as a specialist examination item and spread to Japan. The Ming Dynasty was the heyday of the academic development of acupuncture, and missionaries introduced acupuncture to Europe, where it began to attract international attention. By the Qing Dynasty, Western civilization became the trend and Western medicine also entered China. Acupuncture lacked a modern foundation and doctors focused on medicine but not on needles, so it gradually declined. However, with the rapid increase in China's population, demand for Western medicine often exceeds supply. Acupuncture has once again gained attention from the medical community, and research has been continuously improved and tested on various animals. As a result, acupuncture is widely advocated among the people. Acupuncture is used for anesthesia in some surgeries, and has achieved very good results. How to define acupuncture? Acupuncture refers to acupuncture, also known as acupuncture. It uses certain operating techniques to insert thin metal needles into the patient's body at certain acupoints, and uses acupuncture techniques such as twisting and lifting to treat diseases. There are nine types of needles made by the ancients: cylindrical, with different thicknesses and lengths, or with two or three blades, with sharp or round heads. Their uses are also different, including piercing skin and muscles, puncturing blood vessels to release blood, stimulating subcutaneous nerves, etc. Acupuncture not only treats internal diseases, but also treats some surgical boils and cuts. In modern times, most doctors only use filiform acupuncture for treatment, which is very safe. Occasionally, Mitsubishi needles are used for pricking and bleeding. Moxibustion is moxibustion. It is usually made by rolling moxa into a long strip, lighting it and placing it on the skin at certain acupoints. It is called moxibustion therapy. my country has had moxa-moxibustion, acupuncture moxibustion, ginger-partition moxibustion, garlic-partition moxibustion, etc. Moxibustion has the functions of dispersing cold, reducing swelling and boils, detoxifying, and reconciling qi and blood. The principle of acupuncture treatment is to adjust the nerves and qi and blood in the human body, so that the internal organs that have obstacles can return to normal physiological functions. There are twelve meridians distributed in the human body. Together with the Ren and Du meridians, there are a total of fourteen meridians; half of them are Yin meridians and Yang meridians, and the twelve meridians belong to the internal organs and external meridians and belong to the limbs. For example, the Taiyin meridian of the hands is connected with the lungs and externally leads to the skin. It is an important channel in the human body that connects the inside and outside, and the same is true for other meridians. It also includes 365 acupoints. The meridians are all connected and related to each other. Stimulating one acupoint can adjust the nerve function of another related part. For example, acupuncture at the foot will affect the head. Acupuncture at the Hegu point of Yangming's large intestine in the hand can treat toothache in the lower jaw. Acupuncture at the Neiting point in the stomach meridian of Yangming in the hand can treat toothache in the upper jaw. This proves the existence of meridians. Acupuncture uses the connection of meridians to achieve the effect of treating diseases. Many people doubt whether acupuncture treatment is safe. Patients must be treated by a doctor with a qualified acupuncture license to be protected. First, the doctor must conduct necessary preliminary examinations on the patient, such as looking, smelling, questioning, and incision, and then decide on the location, number, depth, and time of needle retention for the patient. Before acupuncture, the doctor, patient, and related equipment must be disinfected. During the acupuncture, attention should be paid to the patient's reaction. There is generally no bleeding when removing the acupuncture. Occasionally there will be a little bleeding, which is normal. Therefore, acupuncture treatment is generally very safe. When did acupuncture become a legal medical treatment in the United States? As far back as July 1972, the year before President Nixon visited China, he sent Secretary-General Kissinger and a number of accompanying reporters to Beijing first. At that time, New York Times reporter Mr. James Reston suddenly suffered from acute orchiditis upon arrival and required immediate surgery. On the second night after the operation, Mr. Reston had an uncomfortable feeling in his abdomen that was not painful. Within an hour of acupuncture treatment, his abdominal distension was significantly relieved, and there has been no recurrence since. He was very surprised by his rapid recovery. After returning to the United States, he wrote an article and published it in the New York Times, reporting on the strange things acupuncture had done on him. The title was "Now let me tell you about my orchiditis in Beijing." As a result, acupuncture became popular in the East Coast of the United States like a gust of wind. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. In less than three years, it was opposed by the Western medicine community. The reason was that any medical treatment must undergo long-term research and experiments and verify the results before it can be implemented on the human body. Why can acupuncture be used as a medical treatment without these procedures? Since then, acupuncture treatment has been forced to stop in the United States. Although doubts about acupuncture are due to the vast difference in theoretical thinking between Chinese and Western medicine, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the therapeutic effect of acupuncture on certain symptoms in a publication published in 1979, and published a special article in 2003 stating that controlled trials have confirmed that acupuncture can effectively treat certain diseases or improve conditions. Since then, the Western medical community no longer firmly rejects acupuncture. After years of hard research, the United States has gradually recognized acupuncture as one of the effective medical methods. However, no matter where they come from, acupuncturists who come to the United States must pass a strict legal examination system and obtain a license before they can practice medicine. In 2010, the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage approved the inclusion of "Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Traditional Chinese Medicine" on the Representative List of Humanity's Intangible Cultural Heritage. The state now has acupuncture schools to cultivate more talents and continue to promote and develop acupuncture medical technology.