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What is Acupuncture?
Why is Acupuncture popular in the United States now? It works. People are tired of a health care system that does not look at them as people but as hearts, lungs, or joints—and diseased ones at that, without any hope for health. People are tired of taking pills that cause other problems and send them to yet another doctor for more pills.
The easiest way to understand Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine is to visualize yourself as a Christmas tree with fourteen strands of lights. Some of your light bulbs are blinking nicely. Some are blinking fast; some are dull; and some aren’t blinking at all. These light bulbs are your Acupuncture points.
The electrical wires of the strand of lights are the Meridians (pathways/channels) and the current running through the “wires” is Qi (energy). The Meridians are translated into English and are named as organ systems. They are Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen, Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidney, Pericardium, Triple Warmer, Gall Bladder, and Liver. Meridians work with more than the organs named. For example, the Lung Meridian deals with respiratory tissues and skin; the Kidney Meridian handles problems with the kidneys as well as hair, teeth, joints and many other functions in the body. There are two other Meridians called Ren and Du.
The Meridians start on your feet and hands, travel up, down, and around your body. Two Meridians, the conception vessel (Ren) and governing vessel (Du), run up the front and down the back connecting around your mouth and anus. (AcuSETSM does not involve needling around private parts, in the mouth, or close to the eyes.)
For example, each ear has over 160 points that correspond to body parts and systems. There is really a complete body in each ear. A procedure called ariculotherapy involves the shallow insertion of tiny needles into the external ear. I have always felt that using this procedure created a more thorough treatment. There are some incredible calming points on the ear and I use them at every treatment.
Each Meridian except the Ren and Du Meridians has its own flavor, color, sound, time of day, season, and emotion. There are strong and weak times of day. As we listen to you and examine you, we can decide which Meridian needs treatment. Your skin color gives us information, as does your emotional state. The colors are red, green, yellow, white, and blue (black). There are faint colorings throughout the face. Some people have dark circles under their eyes, and some people have red noses. We are trained to look at the whole face for different colors. These colors correspond to different Meridians. We see this in your face, feet, and hands. Different colors on different parts of your face tell us volumes! Certain conditions have an odor. For example, bad breath tells us the Stomach Meridian is out of balance.
Every Meridian has a pulse (except Ren and Du)—six on each wrist, three deep and three on the surface. I mentally place each pulse in one of twenty-eight degrees or categories to help me identify the situation. I will check them periodically to determine whether you are accepting the treatment.
Balance
If there were one word to describe Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine it would be balance. Every action or nonaction by our body (in and out) has one important function: to balance us. This is called homeostasis.
The ancient Chinese knew that humans and the earth are nature. What hurts one hurts the other; what heals one heals the other. The energy that flows through the body is similar to a river carrying energy. We suffer the same conditions the earth does—too much dampness, dryness, wind, cold, or heat.
When we have balance in our life, everything is better. We’re happy; we feel alive. We have the energy to do what we want and need to do. Our emotions also crave balance. Lifestyle changes, exercise, sleep, food, and water all help us to achieve this elusive balance.
Needles
Needling technique and needles are based on information written in about 600 A.D. We now use stainless steel needles, but earlier in Acupuncture’s history, bone, bronze, tin, copper, silver, and gold were used.
Needles are inserted into the skin at specific Acupoint areas. They are gently manipulated a few times during your session and are removed in a certain way. It looks very simple, but there is a lot going on in the insertion and removal of needles. When we insert the needle, we gently move in a counterclockwise or clockwise movement. We may push it down or pull it up a fraction of an inch. This is called “manipulating the needle to activate the Qi.” This is all done very gently. The Acupuncture physician feels a “tug” as on a fishing line. This tells her she has arrived at her objective. This is called Deqi. You might feel a sensation or slight pressure.
At the Acupuncture school I attended, we took classes in theory and point location before we inserted one needle. Five months after we started classes, we took a test developed by the Centers for Disease Control. We could not needle ourselves before this test is taken and passed. I have inserted over two hundred thousand needles at this time.
The needles are classified as “filiform” meaning they are solid. They have a very sharp point and are flexible. They come in different lengths and gauges. We use needles from one-half to one-and-one-half inches long and gauges of twenty-seven to thirty-one in our practice. That is about the width of a hair. We use approximately twelve on each visit, but that varies with your condition.
Needling is not the way you see it portrayed in movies. The needles are inserted just under the skin after the area is cleaned off with alcohol. We always wash our hands and use an antiseptic cleaner right before we touch you.
There may be a slight prickly feeling on insertion. It can feel like a mosquito bite, but it does not last. If at any time you are uncomfortable, please let us know. This will be a very pleasant experience and most people fall asleep.
Very rarely, you may notice a small bruise after the treatment. This could indicate a problem with your body. Some prescription medicines can cause a person to bruise easily. This is one reason we ask for a list of the medicines you take. A bruise can indicate other health conditions, but most of the time, it’s just a bruise. Please bring it to our attention on your next visit. You can put an ice cube with some pressure on it when you get home.
Upon completion of your treatment, the needles are placed in a biohazard waste container as with any other doctor’s office. We pay a biohazard waste control company to dispose of the needles. We are inspected by the state on a yearly basis for safety and sanitary precautions.
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VOLUSIA
CENTER for COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
Debra Pardee Gaffney, A.P., Ph.D., DCN, C.C.P.A.
339 E.
New York Avenue
DeLand, FL 32724
(386) 734-4126 or (800) 734-4580
FAX 386-736-7556
www.acudebra.com |
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