Acupuncture Schools of the Eastern World

It's time to mention a few issues about acupuncture schools of the eastern world. I want to emphasize that the basic direction of Chinese medicine is toward prevention and should an imbalance occur with a resultant disease, acupuncture is employed to restore the body and mind to an equilibrium which we call health. Another essential point to be made is that acupuncture is based on scientific principles and introduces a new concept we in the West are just beginning to recognize as valid. The Chinese, through 6,000 years of trial and error, have come to know that the body possesses a meridian system which basically is electromagnetic currents circulating through the body. These meridians are connected through the skin to various organ systems, the relationships of which are not understood in the West. People should know that this is what they teach in the main schools of acupuncture.

It is through this meridian system that the organ systems are stimulated in order to effect change. All diseases are the result of energy blocks or imbalances which manifest into innumerable disturbances which have plagued mankind throughout the ages. Cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes are but a few of the entities which are thoroughly understood and treatable diseases within the construct and concepts of Chinese medicine. Nowadays a lot of acupuncture schools in the West have lost their main goal - treating people.

While many of us in the West are not clinically sick (in that we do not have overt disease) we are plagued by feelings of mild depression which are enigmatic for the practicing doctor. A patient comes to the clinic or office complaining of malaise, tiredness, weariness or listlessness; a battery of tests is done to rule out known clinical entities. Most of the time our laboratory results are unfruitful. We label these systems as either psychosomatic or neurotic (note the use of words which convey nothing except to say that we are unable to deal with the problems effectively because we know that these problems are deeply rooted and reflect a person's life style and various emotional problems). We are at a loss to treat such an individual effectively because generally it is the person's life circumstances and tendencies which have created his situation.

The general mode of treatment is a quick pep talk and perhaps some anti hypertensive medicine or a tranquilizer and the patient is sent on his way to deal as best he can with the tensions and anxieties with which each and every one of us is confronted daily. If the patient is insistent enough he may be referred to a psychiatrist where an attempt is made to elucidate the causes of the stressful situation. This can often be a long and arduous journey with considerable expense and with no guarantee of success.

Chinese philosophy and medicine approach the problem differently. A basic aspect of Chinese medical philosophy is that the person himself is responsible for his or her own health and it is the role of the physician to be a teacher or guide. However, in times of serious imbalances the physician now elucidates the cause and the treatment depends on what is found; it is tailored to the particular needs of the patient. In other words, the treatment is not standardized, it is individualized. This is an essential difference between the Western medical approach and Chinese medicine and reflects the incredible art and sensitivity of Chinese medicine. Most of the things that we are talking about here are based upon stuff that people learned in the ancient times in those famous acupuncture schools. They also have some really great methods to cure OCD naturally.

The experienced acupuncturist can diagnose the imbalance at the wrist. The doctor tells you where the problem lies and what is needed to resolve the problem. The treatment varies as noted according to the degree of pathology. Often, the treatment is just herbs (i.e. nutritional), and oftentimes it is acupressure and acupuncture or a combination of herbs, acupressure, acupuncture and good common sense.

Not all eastern schools of acupuncture are understood in the West. Another facet of Chinese medicine not generally known in the West is an entire system of Internal Exercises to nourish and prevent diseases of organ systems. I view this as a form of Chinese yoga.