WHAT IS ACUPUNCTURE?
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese form of medicine, which has been used in China for the last 3000 years. Its effectiveness is now accepted in various countries including New Zealand, especially as more people in our society dislike taking medical drugs.
Traditional Chinese Medicine describes pathways of the energy flowing through the body, carrying nourishment and information to all tissues and organs. Disease occurs when some factor disrupts the normal flow of the life force. The role of the acupuncturist is to restore the normal flow of life forces and re-establish health. With its unique system of diagnosis, an acupuncturist will ask not only details of the immediate problem, but also take a case history of past illnesses and familial tendencies, and aim to determine a complete picture of the patient’s health.
Acupuncture aims at treating the person, along with the disease. This means that the acupuncturist looks at the patient as a whole, finds the cause of the illness and the imbalance in the body causing it. Treatment by acupuncture consists of the insertion of fine needles into a few carefully selected points on the body.
Rigorous scientific research has also confirmed that acupuncture promotes the production of natural healing substances to relieve pain, regulate nerve transmission, enhance the immune system, regulate hormones and blood flow, release natural anti-inflammatory, relax and elevate mood. Needle sterilization practiced by registered acupuncturists complies with standards set by the New Zealand Department of Health.
Please inform your practitioner if you are pregnant, have a history of HIV, hepatitis, or other medical conditions.
EAR ACUPUNCTURE
There are traditional references to treating certain diseases by directing manipulation of the auricle. However, ear acupuncture is developing a lot during the 20th Century.
A French physician by the name of Nogier, writing in a German acupuncture periodical in 1957, first drew serious attention to the correspondences between specific sites on the auricle and other parts of the body.
After years of careful observation, relating points of tenderness, reduced electrical resistance, morphological and coloration changes on the ear to disease elsewhere in the body, more than 200 sites were charted on the auricle by Chinese medical clinicians.
Ear acupuncture is effective in the treatment of a wide range of common diseases and is commonly used with good results in addictions, emotional imbalance and stress control.
Special intradermal ear needles or tacks can be embedded in ear points and held in place with adhesive tape for 1-3 days.
While in place, the patient should be instructed to press them several times each day so as to stimulate the underlying tissues.
