What is acupuncture? How does it work?

 What is acupuncture? How does it work?

Acupuncture is a medical method under the Chinese medical system. Aku means needle and panchar means pricking. In this sense, acupuncture is generally defined as pricking at various points on the skin using small needles.

The beginning of the acupuncture medical system

In ancient times, people used stone weapons to fight wars. When fighting wars, stone weapons were used to strike people in various places. In this way, when stone weapons were planted in different parts of the body, the planted part would be injured, but even though there was a wound in the place where the strike was made, the pain in another part of the body began to decrease, and long-standing diseases were cured.

Acupuncture specialist Dr. Jhula Adhikari (Rabin)

It is estimated that a kind of research began while considering why and how it happened. And it is believed that it gradually developed into acupuncture medicine. In this way, this medical system is believed to have begun with the beginning of human civilization. When have we felt energy within ourselves?

According to Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, it is believed that vital energy flows continuously through various channels in our body. According to Ayurveda, such channels are called sources.

Similarly, Hinduism and Buddhism also explain the flow of energy within the body. In yoga, the path through which energy flows is called the nadi. Various methods of chakra awakening are also mentioned, stating that the various chakras in the spine are centers of energy.

According to acupuncture under the Chinese medical system, it is believed that energy flows continuously through the energy channels (meridians) in our body. Acupuncture, which began in China about 5,000 years ago, has been becoming popular all over the world through Europe and America since the 16th century. Currently, acupuncture services have been expanded to about 196 countries around the world.

Initially, acupuncture was performed with needles made of stone, but over time, with the discovery of metal, stone needles were replaced by needles made of metal. The acupuncture needles used today are made of steel, which are as thin as threads and do not rust. Along with the development of acupuncture needles, its medical principles have also developed.

Some of the main basic principles of Chinese medicine

— Yin Yang theory.

— The theory of the five elements.

— The theory of the major organs

—The theory of meridians and collaterals.

— Yin Yang theory

The laws of the universe and the earth can be understood through the theory of Yin and Yang. All objects and characters in the universe and the earth can be expressed in terms of Yin and Yang. For example, water is Yin and fire is Yang, Yin is the moon and Yang is the sun, darkness is Yin and light is Yang.

The Principle of the Five Elements

The entire life process or life cycle in the universe, earth and nature is possible due to the movement of the five elements. The five elements are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The five elements are different forms of nature, there is a universal dynamic balance in nature which is obtained from the five elements. The source and power of life are obtained from nature and there is an unbreakable relationship between the five elements and life. Life is governed by the laws of the five elements, the correct operation and balance of the laws is a healthy life.

Meridian and Collaterals Principle

According to the Chinese medical system, a type of vital energy (qi) is flowing in the body. The certain imaginary path through which this energy flows is called the Shakti Marg. The Meridian Principle is a very important principle of acupuncture.

In Chinese medicine, how does human life work? How does disease occur? What measures should be taken to cure the disease? These meridians provide very important knowledge.

These meridians are regularly filled with vital energy (qi). If for some reason this flow is interrupted, health problems and pain occur.

It is believed that acupuncture can cure the disease or reduce pain by removing that obstruction. There are about 361 main energy points located on the meridian lines. These are called acupoints.

At the acupoints, tiny, thin needles with special characteristics are used to balance the vital energy at the physical, mental, and emotional levels using various methods. In this way, various health problems are solved.

How does acupuncture work and reduce pain?

According to the book Neuroacupuncture published in 2017, acupuncture works in various ways. These include local mechanisms, spinal cord mechanisms, endogenous opioid circuit mechanisms, nervous system mechanisms, and neuromuscular mechanisms.

Although acupuncture is useful for various other health problems, it is especially famous for reducing pain.

Let us try to look at how acupuncture helps reduce pain from the perspective of modern science, especially the neuroscience of medicine. When we are injured in some place, we feel pain, but in order to feel pain, a certain process must be completed, which is called the pain pathway. Usually, only after the three layers of nerves meet each other, do we feel pain or this pathway is completed.

First layer of nerves; Injury From the location of the C fiber and A delta fiber, special types of nerves carry pain sensations to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in the spine.

The second-order nerve, located either in the spinal cord or in the brain stem, takes the pain sensation and crosses the other side of the injured part and takes it up through the spinothalamic tract to the thalamus of the brain. The third-order nerve starts from the thalamus of the brain and ends in the somatosensory cortex in the front part of the brain (which type of pain is felt depending on the place where the injury occurred) and we feel pain.

At a place called the substantia gelatinosa in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, the first-order nerve sends pain sensations to the second-order nerve through neurotransmitters, and similarly, such sensations pass from the second to the third. When we do acupuncture, some of the thick and fast-conducting A beta fibers are stimulated.

Which is located in the substantia gelatinosa in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, where the first-order nerve sends pain signals to the second-order nerve via neurotransmitters called substance P and glutamate. At that location, the pain-relieving signal reduces or blocks the pain sensation and does not allow the sensation to go any further, thus reducing pain at the level of the spinal cord.

In the acupuncture points, there are more A beta fibers than pain-receiving nerves. When we perform acupuncture on an acupoint, before the pain sensation, a pain-relieving signal such as endorphin closes the gate between the first and second nerves, and above that, the pain sensation does not go at all or goes to a lesser extent. This is also known as the famous gate control theory.

On the other hand, the effect of acupuncture treatment also reaches our brain through the spinal cord. According to the need, the hypothalamus, which is the natural pain-relieving center, and other similar centers are activated according to the acupoint we have chosen. Which releases a natural pain-relieving hormone called beta endorphin, which activates the center called peri-aqueduct gray in the midbrain, which plays a role in reducing the pain sensation in the substantia gelatinosa in the dorsal horn through hormones such as serotonin.

According to various studies, acupuncture helps to release natural pain killer hormones. Endorphins, polypeptides, enkephalins, and dynorphins help to reduce pain. Acupuncture therapy has also been found to reduce pain by increasing the number of neurotransmitters in the body that reduce pain.

Similarly, acupuncture has also been found to help reduce pain according to the axial reflex arc theory. Recent studies have shown that acupuncture helps reduce pain through these various processes. In addition to acupuncture, there are other medical methods under Chinese medicine that work according to the same medical principle.

These include acupressure, moxibustion, ear acupuncture, electric acupuncture, cosmetic acupuncture, scalp acupuncture, and bloodletting.

Research and Investigation

Recently, scientific research has been conducted on meridians and will continue to do so. According to modern research, it is explained as a meridian. Similarly, recent studies on physiology have put forward the nervous system hypothesis, according to which acupuncture is first performed by stimulating the body's sensory organs and transmitting that signal to the brain, and only after receiving the necessary signal from the brain, the desired acupuncture result is obtained, but research has not yet confirmed this.

Acupuncture in Nepal

Awareness has increased in Nepal compared to before. Treatment services through acupuncture are also being operated in government and private hospitals and clinics in Nepal. Acupuncture has been found to be very effective in patients who come to the government-run central hospital, Naradevi, for various types of paralysis, bone pain, back pain, knee pain, migraine headaches, hip joint pain, numbness, pinched nerve pain in the back and neck, and nerve problems such as numbness, tingling, and anxiety. Due to the lack of skilled manpower, this service has not been expanded nationwide.

Caution

This treatment should only be taken from a skilled doctor. When a skilled person places acupuncture needles in the necessary acupoints, the patient should feel heat, heaviness, and a kind of current flow in the place where the needle is placed, and the person who places the needles should also feel it.

To get the full benefits of acupuncture therapy, it is very important to feel this feeling, which is called the feeling of energy. Therefore, you should not get acupuncture from just anyone you find. Even if it looks the same, you cannot benefit from acupuncture without the expertise of the person doing it. It will only waste your health, money, and time.