accupuncture is a popular treatment for which culture

What is acupuncture and acupuncture treatment?

Acupuncture is the practice of penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles which are then activated through gentle and specific movements of the practitioner's hands or with electrical stimulation. Acupuncture is part of the ancient practice of Traditional Chinese medicine.

Is acupuncture still used in the US?

Acupuncture has been a popular and widely used alternative medicine since it started to be a common practice in China. Now acupuncture is used still today as an alternative medicine in the United States, although practitioner’s views on the mechanisms of acupuncture differ.

What cultures use acupuncture?

Acupuncture is used in both Western and Eastern parts of the world. However, some cultures might be more likely to use acupuncture because it aligns with their values, ideas, and traditions.

Why do people still believe in acupuncture?

There are numerous cognitive factors that play a role in the belief and use of acupuncture. Despite the lack of solid research evidence to support acupuncture, it still remains popular and people still pay a substantial amount of money to receive this treatment.

What culture uses acupuncture?

acupuncture, ancient Chinese medical technique for relieving pain, curing disease, and improving general health. It was devised before 2500 bce in China and by the late 20th century was used in many other areas of the world.

What is acupuncture most commonly used for?

Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain. Increasingly, it is being used for overall wellness, including stress management.

Where is acupuncture most commonly practiced?

The majority (68%) practiced in independent settings and 42% practiced within the National Health Service. Patients most commonly consulted for low back, neck, shoulder and knee pain, as well as headaches and migraine.

Is acupuncture Chinese or Indian?

Traditional ChineseAcupuncture, a component of Traditional Chinese Medicine, is well known to have been originated in ancient China and propagated to neighboring countries including India and now throughout the world.

What is acupuncture called in Chinese?

Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientific knowledge, and it has been characterized as quackery....AcupunctureTraditional Chinese針灸Simplified Chinese针灸Literal meaning"needling [and] moxibustion"3 more rows

Where did acupuncture come from?

The ancient practice of acupuncture started in China approximately 3000 years ago. The first documentation of acupuncture that described it as an organized system of diagnosis and treatment is in The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, which dates back to 100 BCE.

What population uses acupuncture?

Our findings revealed that ever acupuncture user (including former and recent user) increased from 4.2% to 6.3% of the population, representing 8.19 million and 14.01 million users in 2002 and 2007, respectively.

Is acupuncture popular in China?

China's ancient medical remedy of acupuncture is gaining global popularity after proving to be an effective treatment for illnesses and ailments that Western medicine still struggles to cure.

Does acupuncture come from Taoism?

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese medicine is rooted in ancient Taoist philosophy which views a person as an energy system in which body and mind are unified, each influencing and balancing the other.

Is acupuncture used in India?

Historically, records are there regarding its Indian origin. However, acupuncture practised today in Indian sub-continent mainly shows Chinese origin and its introduction to India was pioneered by Dr. B.K. Basu, the first Indian who learned Chinese acupuncture from mainland China during 1959.

Is there acupuncture in India?

Currently practice of acupuncture is fast developing throughout India, some state governments already officially recognized it and recently the central government of India declared state recognition to acupuncture as an independent system of therapeutics in the health care system of the country.

Is acupuncture Eastern or Western medicine?

Eastern medicine approaches diagnosing, treating, and preventing disease in a holistic manner. This includes multiple factors that embrace the mind, body, and spirit. The practice includes a branch of treatment such as acupuncture and tai chi.

Why do some cultures use acupuncture?

However, some cultures might be more likely to use acupuncture because it aligns with their values, ideas, and traditions. For example, as stated previously, one survey found that 25% of Chinese Americans use acupuncture in a mental health setting, while 6.5% Americans overall have reported using it (3).

What is the purpose of acupuncture?

However, Western practices view acupuncture as a way to stimulate nerves, tissue, and muscles in order to enhance the body’s natural painkillers (2).

How many Chinese Americans use acupuncture?

Additionally, another survey of Chinese Americans in a mental health program found that about 25% of them used acupuncture, which suggests it may be more popular among diverse cultures (3). A plethora of information about acupuncture can be found on the web.

Does acupuncture help with pain?

However, the results could not explain if the needles were the true causal factor in pain inhibition. In addition, systematic reviews and meta-analyses over the past decade have given more reliable evidence for acupuncture helping dental pain, nausea, back pain, and headache. However, evidence for aiding in chronic pain has still been scarce.

Does acupuncture stimulate nerve endings?

Some research has supported the effectiveness of acupuncture though. For example, acupuncture need les have been found to stimulate nerve endings , which leads to changing the pain inhibitory mechanisms in one’s body. However, the results could not explain if the needles were the true causal factor in pain inhibition.

Where did acupuncture originate?

Acupuncture. Acupuncture is an alternative form of medicine that has been around for ages. It originated in China around the time of the Common Era, however, back then sharp stones and bones were used, rather than needles.

Is acupuncture a consensus heuristic?

Since acupuncture is popular, the consensus heuristic might have a role in people seeking it out. Lastly, because acupuncture is a natural and alternative form of medicine, people might seek this out and follow the natural commonplace misconception.

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a technique in which practitioners stimulate specific points on the body—most often by inserting thin needles through the skin. It is one of the practices used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Why is acupuncture so challenging?

Studying acupuncture is challenging because: Clinical trials often differ in terms of technique, the number of acupuncture points, the number of sessions, and the duration of those sessions.

What is simulated acupuncture?

Many acupuncture trials rely on a technique called simulated acupuncture, which may use blunt-tipped retractable needles that touch the skin but do not penetrate (in real acupuncture, needles penetrate the skin). Researchers also may simulate acupuncture in other ways.

What is FDA acupuncture needle?

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates acupuncture needles as medical devices for use by licensed practitioners and requires that needles be manufactured and labeled according to certain standards. For example, the FDA requires that needles be sterile, nontoxic, and labeled for single use by qualified practitioners only.

What is PubMed in medical terms?

A service of the National Library of Medicine, PubMed® contains publication information and (in most cases) brief summaries of articles from scientific and medical journals. For guidance from NCCIH on using PubMed, see How To Find Information About Complementary Health Approaches on PubMed.

Is acupuncture better than sham?

A 2014 Australian clinical study involving 282 men and women showed that needle and laser acupuncture were modestly better at relieving knee pain from osteoarthritis than no treatment, but not better than simulated (sham) laser acupuncture. Participants received 8 to 12 actual and simulated acupuncture treatments over 12 weeks. These results are generally consistent with previous studies, which showed that acupuncture is consistently better than no treatment but not necessarily better than simulated acupuncture at relieving osteoarthritis pain.

Is acupuncture good for chronic pain?

Therefore, acupuncture appears to be a reasonable option for people with chronic pain to consider. However, clinical practice guidelines are inconsistent in recommendations about acupuncture. The effects of acupuncture on the brain and body and how best to measure them are only beginning to be understood.

What is traditional Chinese medicine?

Traditional Chinese medicine, especially acupuncture, is a popular form of therapy that pain patients have embraced. Pain clinicians should become familiar with these alternative therapies. By David Cosio, PhD, ABPP and Erica H. Lin, PharmD, BCACP. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the oldest systems of medicine.

How many acupuncture points are there in the human body?

In TCM, there are as many as 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body, which are connected by 12 main meridians. 8 These meridians conduct Qi between the surface of the body and its internal organs. Acupuncture is believed to keep the balance between Yin (associated with the parasympathetic nervous system) and the Yang (associated with the sympathetic nervous system). This allows for the normal flow of Qi associated with neural transmission throughout the body and restores health to the mind and body.

Why is Chinese herbology misleading?

The term Chinese herbology can be misleading because not all the substances used are herbs. There are over 13,000 different Chinese “medicinals” available around the world. The Chinese Materia Medica is a pharmacological reference book used by TCM practitioners that describes thousands of medicinal substances. 19

What is TCM assessment?

TCM practitioners use 5 basic methods of diagnosis in their assessments: inspection (looking), auscultation (listening), olfaction (smelling), inquiry (asking), and palpation (touching). 4

How thin are acupuncture needles?

Many patients express concerns about acupuncture due to their needle phobia. Unlike other needles, acupuncture needles are solid and hair-thin. They generally are inserted no more than a half-inch to an inch depending on the type of treatment being delivered. Acupressure, the application of pressure to key points with the fingers, and auricular acupuncture, the application of small needles, vicaria seeds, pellets, or ear tacks to specific points of the ear, may serve as alternatives for patients with needle phobia.

How old is TCM?

It is more than 3,500 years older than traditional Western medicine, which came to exist much more recently, for example with the formation of the American Medical Association in 1847. 1 TCM should not be confused with “Oriental medicine,” a catch-all phrase used to describe a set of practices developed not only in Asia but worldwide. 2.

Why is Chinese nutrition important?

Chinese nutrition traditionally was thought of as a lifestyle, but now it is considered a mode of dieting rooted in Chinese understandings of the effects of food on the human organism. 23 It became a therapy for westerners because of their poor diet. It was the predominant dietary therapy used before the sciences of biology and chemistry allowed the discovery of present physiologic knowledge. Chinese nutrition was introduced and made popular in the Western hemisphere with the release of the book, The Tao of Healthy Eating, and now is considered alternative medicine. 24

Where did acupuncture originate?

Since acupuncture as it is currently understood and practiced in Europe and North America originated in China and has been employed there and in other Asian countries for a lot longer than it has been used in the West ( though not nearly as long as is usually claimed ), it makes sense that it would be far more widely used in that part of the world if it is truly as popular a therapy as its proponents claim.

What percentage of people use acupuncture?

The research data on acupuncture utilization suggests that from about 5-25% of people, regardless of nationality or ethnicity, will at some time try acupuncture for, mostly for some kind of musculoskeletal pain. Conventional therapies are often used along with acupuncture, and they are far more popular overall, especially for serious or acute conditions. So the little research there is suggests that acupuncture occupies a niche common to many CAM therapies. It is used at a low level by a small to moderate proportion of the population for conditions that are either mild, self-limiting, or without a definitive conventional treatment, and it is rarely used in lieu of conventional medical care. This is hardly a mounting wave of enthusiasm for acupuncture itself, much less the mystical theories and postmodern cognitive relativism often associated with it.

How many people in Japan use acupuncture?

And a recently published series of surveys conducted in Japan found that about 5-7% of respondents used acupuncture in a given year, and that over a lifetime between 20-27% of respondents had at some time tried acupuncture. More than 80% of the use of acupuncture was for musculoskeletal complaints. About half of those who had used acupuncture indicated they would use it again, and about 37% indicated they would not.

How popular is CAM therapy?

the 2007 CDC National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is widely cited as showing that about 30% of Americans use CAM therapies. A careful look at the details of this survey, however, shows that many of the supposed CAM therapies are really relaxation or exercise practices, such as massage and yoga, not medical therapies. Chiropractic is the only medical therapy generally classified as alternative that was used by more than 10% of people in the survey. And that was primarily for idiopathic lower back pain, an indication for which it is generally accepted, even by skeptics such as myself, as having some demonstrated benefit, about equal to standard medical interventions. These usage numbers haven’t changed in decades, which belies the notion that CAM is growing in popularity.

Is acupuncture good for musculoskeletal pain?

A large majority of people who seek acupuncture therapy, regardless of ethnicity or nationality, do so for treatment of musculoskeletal conditions and pain. There is good evidence that the therapeutic ritual of acupuncture has some symptomatic benefit for such indications.

Does acupuncture affect the course of disease?

It does not seem to matter where needles are inserted or if they are inserted at all, and acupuncture therapy does not appear to measurably affect the course of any actual disease. (The Skeptic’s Dictionary has a clear and concise review ).

Is acupuncture the most widely used CAM?

Studies of Acupuncture Use. I thought it might be useful to look at some of the data concerning the popularity acupuncture, since it is probably the most widely used and accepted CAM therapy after chiropractic, and there have been a few interesting studies in this area.

When did acupuncture start?

Acupuncture is an ancient system of healing that predates recorded history. According to the history of acupuncture, acupuncture practice began during the Stone Age when sharp-edged tools and stones were used to puncture and drain abscesses.

What is the Acupuncture and Massage College?

Acupuncture and Massage College's Acupuncture Program prepare graduates for careers as acupuncture physicians and massage therapists. For program information call Joe Calareso at (305) 595-9500.

How many states have acupuncture?

In 1997 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) acknowledged acupuncture as an effective therapy for a wide range of health conditions. More than 40 states have licensing and certification training for acupuncture practice, and most states now require a national examination. Today there are over 40 accredited acupuncture schools in the United States.

What is acupuncture in medicine?

Acupuncture is the needling of acupuncture points to affect the flow and balance of chi. Using needles to mechanically produce a temporary local counter-irritation effect is not acupuncture – even though it may be an incidental consequence of this practice and may have contributed to its perceived effectiveness. 3.

What is the meaning of acupuncture?

Acupuncture is based upon the Eastern philosophy of chi (also spelled qi ), which is the Chinese term for the supposed life force or vital energy that animates living things. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) chi flows through pathways in the body known as meridians.

What is the practice of placing needles through the skin in specific locations of the body for the purpose of healing and relief?

Acupuncture is the practice of placing very thin needles through the skin in specific locations of the body for the purpose of healing and relief of symptoms. This practice is several thousand years old and is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

What are the three types of acupuncture trials?

Controlled clinical trials of actual acupuncture (uncontrolled trials should only be considered preliminary and are never definitive) typically have three arms: a control group with no intervention or standard treatment, a sham-acupuncture group (needles are placed but in the “wrong” locations or not deep enough), and a real acupuncture group. Most of such trials, for any intervention including pain, nausea, addiction, and others, show no difference between the sham-acupuncture group and the true acupuncture group. They typically do show improved outcome in both acupuncture groups over the no-intervention group, but this is typical of all clinical trials and is clearly due to placebo-type effects. Such comparisons should be considered unblinded because patients knew whether they were getting acupuncture (sham or real).

What is a bait and switch acupuncture?

The most common example of the “bait-and-switch” for acupuncture are studies that examined the effects on pain of electrical stimulation through acupuncture needles. This is not acupuncture – it is transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS), which is an accepted treatment for chronic pain, masquerading as acupuncture.

How many abstracts were included in the study of acupuncture?

In the study of acupuncture trials, 252 of 1085 abstracts met the inclusion criteria. Research conducted in certain countries was uniformly favorable to acupuncture; all trials originating in China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were positive, as were 10 out of 11 of those published in Russia/USSR.

What is the healing practice of the time called?

The healing practices of the time were part of what is called philosophy-based medicine, to be distinguished from modern science-based medicine. Philosophy-based systems began with a set of ideas about health and illness and based their treatments on those ideas.

How has acupuncture changed the world?

Acupuncture for pain management has changed so many people's lives in past 40 years. The scientific research increasingly supports the use of acupuncture in the treatment of many conditions in addition to pain management. Increasingly, acupuncture practitioners are championing efforts to inform and educate medical professionals and the public on the widespread application and evidence base of acupuncture. Acupuncture coverage within insurance policies is now commonly available. Acupuncture research continues to demonstrate new treatment options, which are the basis for policy and reimbursement mechanisms to follow. The International Academy of Scalp Acupuncture in the United States expects to release a new documentary entitled Hopewithin the next year. This documentary highlights the movement and championing efforts within acupuncture use and practice in the West: a positive next step in making acupuncture available to all.

When was acupuncture first used?

The ancient practice of acupuncture started in China approximately 3000 years ago .8The first documentation of acupuncture that described it as an organized system of diagnosis and treatment is in The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, which dates back to 100 BCE.

Why is acupuncture used in the West?

Initially, acupuncture was used for pain management in the West. The majority of the public and medical practitioners are still not aware of the fact that acupuncture has been used in the East to prevent and treat many kinds of disorders for thousands of years.

Does acupuncture help with cancer?

Consider oncology treatment. Studies conducted on both humans and animals suggest that acupuncture may strengthen the immune system during chemotherapy and can reduce the side effects of nausea and vomiting. Studies done on animals support the use of electroacupuncture to relieve cancer pain.

Is acupuncture good for arthritis?

NIH-funded research indicates acupuncture as effective in treating migraines, arthritis, and chronic pain. The study, which involved data on nearly 18 000 patients, revealed that acupuncture is more effective than standard care and sham treatments.19A 2004 study conducted in Sydney, Australia, that focused on the point P-6 (also known as Neiguan) as a point for treating postoperative nausea showed that those who received acupuncture treatment were 29% to get sick and 28% less likely to feel nauseous, in comparison to those who received sham treatment or no treatment.20

Is acupuncture effective for headaches?

As acupuncture slowly proved effective, studies were conducted proving its efficacy in pain management, nausea relief, and headache dissipation, among other things. Subsequently, a 1997 National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus conference reported that there was positive evidence for acupuncture's effectiveness.13.

Is acupuncture a complementary medicine?

During the past 40 years, acupuncture, a therapeutic technique of oriental medicine, has become more and more popular, evolving into one of the most utilized forms of complementary integrative medicine interventions in the United States.

Where did acupuncture start?

Acupuncture is a holistic practice with roots in traditional Chinese medicine that started becoming popular in Russia after doctors from that country visited China in the 1950s, according to an international academic journal. Acupuncturists must be trained by practitioners schooled in West, according to Russian officials.

Does acupuncture work in Russia?

Russian medical practitioners in both disciplines recognize acupuncture has no negative effects, and also that different types of acupunct ure treatment release endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. Acupuncture is still used in China in some areas as a general anesthetic.

When was acupuncture first used?

The Chinese medical text that first describes acupuncture is The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (History of Acupuncture), which was compiled around 305- 204 BCE Some hieroglyphics have been found dating back to 1000 BCE that may indicate an early use of acupuncture.

What is acupuncture in Chinese?

Acupuncture (Chinese: 針灸, Pinyin: zhēn jiǔ) is a broad term covering techniques for inserting and manipulating thin needles into "acupuncture points" on the body in order to restore health and well-being. In the West, it is associated with Traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM along with herbal medicine and tui na.

How many meridians are there in acupuncture?

This is referred to as treating "patterns of disharmony". Treatment of acupuncture points may be performed along the twelve main or eight extra meridians, located throughout the body. Of the eight extra meridians, only two have acupuncture points of their own.

How does acupuncture work?

Traditional Chinese medical theory holds that acupuncture works by normalizing the balance of qi "vital energy" throughout the body. Pain or illnesses are treated by attempting to remedy local or systemic accumulations or deficiencies of qi.

What is traditional theory of TCM?

Traditional Theory. TCM is based on a different paradigm than scientific biomedicine. Acupuncture treats the human body as a whole that involves several "systems of function" that are in many cases associated with (but not identified on a one-to-one basis with) physical organs.

What are the different types of acupuncture?

Other types of acupuncture, notably Japanese, Korean, and classical Chinese acupuncture, are practiced and taught throughout the world. The mechanism of acupuncture and its effectiveness are a matter of active scientific research and debate.

Where did acupuncture originate?

Acupuncture's origins in China are uncertain. The earliest Chinese medical texts (Ma-wang-tui graves 68 BCE) do not mention acupuncture.

Everybody’s Doing It

• One argument that often comes up when skeptics and proponents of so-called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) debate is the question of the popularity of various CAM practices. Advocates of CAM often claim these practices are widely used and growing rapidly in popularity. Obviously, CAM proponents have an interest in characterizing their ...

See more on sciencebasedmedicine.org

Surveys of Cam Use

Studies of Acupuncture Use

The Bottom Line

References