Acupuncture is Good For What?

Acupuncture is Good For What?

We believe that acupuncture is good for many conditions but currently UK law administered by the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) now insists that only when ‘robust’ evidence is available may claims for efficacy be made.

By ‘robust’ evidence they mean neither 

• the WHO (World Health Organisation) list of conditions treatable by acupuncture nor 
• a similar list on the British National Health Service acupuncture evidence site

The ASA regards both as inadequate! They regard such lists as being based only on positive evidence and not on all reviews including those of research conducted on a condition where the results were also found to be negative or inconclusive.

We would point out that although, for convenience, conditions with names such as nausea, vomiting and dental pain are treated as such (and successfully according to their requirements for ‘robust’ evidence) acupuncturists don’t treat such conditions!

Syndromes

What acupuncture is good for are, for example, syndromes and channel problems as defined in Chinese medicine.

For example, ‘nausea’ is not such a syndrome.

Nausea can arise in Chinese medicine from a multitude of syndromes, some easier to treat than others, such as

–          Liver qi stagnation with invasion of the Stomach

–          Stomach qi not descending

–          Stomach Heat

–          Qi deficiency of Stomach

–          Stomach Blood Stasis

–          Heat in the Liver and Gall-Bladder

–          Cold in the Stomach, and so on. (Yes, there are more!)

–          A combination of the above

When you visit your acupuncturist, you may think you are being treated for nausea, your ‘presenting’ condition. 

Not so!

Actually, your acupuncturist will be thinking about which of a number of different ways to diagnose your problem is appropriate.

So he’ll probably think first of which syndromes are involved. He’ll also be thinking of which acupuncture channels run through any locations where you feel nausea. He’ll also consider any other factors that might be important, including your diet and lifestyle. Then he’ll take your pulse the Chinese way, examine your tongue, and probably palpate your abdomen or feel for blockages along acupuncture channels in your legs or arms. All this gives him information about what may be going ‘wrong’ for you.

He will then devise a treatment that improves the syndromes he’s diagnosed, and clears blockages in your abdomen or channels.

If the treatment is successful, your nausea will improve – almost as a side effect!

Firm opinions!

People often don’t know about the wealth of conditions that acupuncture treats. Sometimes a friend told them that acupuncture was good for the problem the friend had, but they then assume it’s no good for anything else.

Or they assume it’s good for everything!

What else does your acupuncturist need to know?

Apart from the usual medical details (see Consultation), it is important that you tell your practitioner:

By diagnosing your symptoms into syndromes, your acupuncturist can tell you which of them acupuncture is good for.

Also, if you have pain along one or more channels, he may be able to clear any blockage or deficiency in those channels, thereby relieving pain.

So, is acupuncture good for acupuncture channel problems?

It most certainly is! Channel theory is a huge part of the general theory behind acupuncture and a skilled practitioner can often alleviate pain remarkably quickly through using it.