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June 2017

New Study….Acupuncture better than Pain Medication.

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New Study Says Acupuncture Could Be Viable Alternative To Pain Medication

By @M_Matthews m.matthews@medicaldaily.com
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The traditional Chinese treatment acupuncture could be a possible alternative to addictive drugs.
Acupuncture is often thought of as an alternative therapy, but a new study validates the treatment for use in relieving pain. Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, conducted the largest ever randomized controlled trial to look at acupuncture use in emergency rooms, and found the practice to be an effective pain reliever for some patients.

Read: Valium For Lower Back Pain? Diazepam As Effective As Placebo, Study Says; Yoga, Acupuncture And Other Alternative Treatments

The team studied 538 patients experiencing acute low back pain, migraines or ankle sprains that sought treatment in emergency rooms. Pain was ranked on a scale of 10 points, and those who scored at least a four received either acupuncture, acupuncture and medicine, or just medicine. About an hour after being treated, less than 40 percent reported feeling any relief. However, within two days, almost everyone fared better. About 82 percent of those who only received acupuncture said they would opt for that treatment again, compared to 80 percent who received both and 78 percent who were prescribed medication only.

Study co-author Professor Marc Cohen, from RMIT’s School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, said that acupuncture is actually widely used as a pain treatment, just not in hospitals.

“While acupuncture is widely used by practitioners in community settings for treating pain, it is rarely used in hospital emergency departments,” Cohen said in a statement. “Emergency nurses and doctors need a variety of pain-relieving options when treating patients, given the concerns around opioids such as morphine, which carry the risk of addiction when used long-term.”

There’s been a lot of talk about the opioid epidemic recently. As we previously wrote, The New York Times reported that last year’s death rates by drug overdose is on pace to surpass 59,000 people, which is the largest per-year increase ever.  The paper points out that drug overdoses have become the main cause of death for those under 50 years old. Although a complex situation that isn’t likely to be solved anytime soon, many healthcare and policy experts have an idea of how to help the situation, including fewer prescriptions for pain medication. Some believe that doctors are far too liberal with offering up opioids and should be more prudent when prescribing. Finding solutions, such as acupuncture, could be one more way to decrease addiction.

“Some Australian emergency departments already offer acupuncture when trained staff are available but further studies are needed on ways to improve pain management overall in emergency departments, and the potential role for acupuncture in this,” Cohen said.

Of course, this research is just a starting point. Science still needs to figure out the best uses for acupuncture.

“We need to determine the conditions that are most responsive to acupuncture, the feasibility of including the treatment in emergency settings, and the training needed for doctors or allied health personnel,” Cohen explained.

Acupuncture Meridians Pathways of Chi Energy

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Acupuncture meridians are called many names. These names includes Chinese meridians, energy meridians, and Chi meridians, just to name a few. These meridians carry the energy that vitalizes all life forms and allows them to flourish and grow. Different cultures call this life force by different names: Chi, subtle energy, Prana and vital energy to name just a few.

Similar to electricity, this energy is invisible to the human eye. However, experienced Chinese doctors can feel and trace these pathways of energy with their hands. About 5,000 years ago they mapped these meridian lines. With this understanding, acupuncture was developed to balance Chi.

Think of these acupuncture meridians as streams or rivers flowing with energy or information. Like a river that provides life-giving water to its surrounding areas, these channels distribute revitalizing energy and carry information to the surrounding area of the body.

Acupuncture Meridians Chart

Sometimes, however, the flow of energy is disrupted. An overload of energy in the form of strong emotions and trauma can block or disrupt the flow of Chi. It is like a surge of electricity going to your TV and causing a circuit to blow. Optimal health depends on energy consistently flowing; balanced, free, and uninterrupted throughout the entire body.

You can also think of it in terms of an information current or download. If the data size is too large, and your computer capacity can’t handle it, the download is very slow or gets stuck.

This is where Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) comes in. Practicing EFT will help clear the stuck energy from your acupuncture meridians. Allowing energy to once more flow freely to all parts of your body. Go to EFT Tapping to learn more about this amazing meridian tapping technique.

Acupuncture meridians can be found throughout the body. There are many acupuncture points along these meridians that serve as energy reservoirs where energy is collected over time. These meridian points can be stimulated with needles, physical pressure, or tapping to release or redistribute this energy.

There are 12 primary acupuncture meridians. These channels surface to the skin twelve separate times and appear to be segments. However, under the surface, these meridians interconnect with one another. Each one is named for the primary organ or system they distribute energy to. Two pathways, called the central and governing meridians, are considered meridians as well, even though they do not correspond to a particular major organ system.

Each Chinese meridian has a time period where its particular energy is strongest. They are also associated with specific emotions.

Listed below are the twelve primary energy meridians, their time periods and the main emotions linked with them:

1. LUNG MERIDIAN (3am – 5am); grief, intolerance
2. LARGE INTESTINE MERIDIAN (5am – 7am); guilt
3. STOMACH MERIDIAN (7am – 9am); disgust, greed
4. SPLEEN MERIDIAN (9am – 11am); worry, anxiety about the future
5. HEART MERIDIAN (11am – 1pm); joy, anger
6. SMALL INTESTINE MERIDIAN (1pm – 3pm); insecurity, sadness
7. BLADDER MERIDIAN (3pm – 5pm); fright, impatient, restless
8. KIDNEY MERIDIAN (5pm – 7pm); fear, indecision
9. PERICARDIUM/CIRCULATION-SEX (7pm – 9pm); hurt, extreme joy, jealousy, regret
10. TRIPLE WARMER/THYROID MERIDIAN (9pm – 11pm); hopelessness, depression, despair
11. GALL BLADDER MERIDIAN (11pm – 1am); rage, wrath
12. LIVER MERIDIAN (1am – 3am); anger, unhappiness

The tapping points for EFT are located at specific points along the Chinese meridians. These points are at the beginning or end of the pathways or where the pathways rise close to the surface. Here is the list of tapping points for the Short-Cut Version of EFT and their associated meridians ( see EFT Learning for point location on the body):

1. Karate Chop Point – Small Intestine Meridian
2. Top of Head – Governing Meridian
3. Beginning of Eyebrow Point – start point of the Bladder Meridian, Stomach Meridian
4. Side of Eye Point – end point of the Triple Warmer Meridian, beginning point of the the Gall Bladder Meridian, Small Intestine Meridian
5. Under the Eye Point – Stomach Meridian
6. Under Nose Point – end point of the Governing Meridian, Large Intestine Meridian
7. Chin Point – end point of the Central or Conception Meridian, Stomach Meridian
8. Collarbone Point – Kidney Meridian
9. Under Arm Point – ending point of the Spleen Meridian

To learn more on how acupuncture improves energy click on the site below:

http://austinhealingacupuncture.com/acupuncture-and-energy-a-traditional-method-in-the-modern-world/