Acupuncture is an essential part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a comprehensive system of medicine with a continuous clinical history of over 3,000 years. TCM includes a variety of techniques in addition to acupuncture such as herbal prescription, dietary therapy, T'ai Chi Ch'uan exercise, electrostimulation, cupping (suction), moxibustion (burning herbs), gua sha (scraping ) and massage.

TCM is based on the theory that energy, or “qi,” flows throughout the body along identifiable channels, called meridians. Acupuncture points are located along the meridians, and when stimulated, cause predictable effects.

Each meridian, in turn, is associated with an organ, tendons and muscles, and other meridians. Modern science has measured the electrical charge at acupuncture points, thus corroborating the locations of the meridians as mapped by the ancients.

This energetic model of medicine treats the underlying cause of disease by determining each individual's unique pattern. By reading the pulse and tongue, palpation and other techniques, an individual's distinctive “pattern of disharmony” suggests a diagnosis and treatment plan. Symptoms are considered to be an artifact of the disharmonious flow of the body's qi. In order to gain the most benefit from TCM treatment, patients are encouraged to find a balance in their lifestyle that reinforces TCM therapy.

Please note that these categories are for convenience only, as health conditions can be due to more than one factor.

• Musculoskeletal: pain of any kind (from injury, post-operative, fibromyalgia pain, headache or sinus pain, repetitive stress disorders, TMJ (jaw) pain
• Psycho/Emotional: depression, stress, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, insomnia
• Neurologic: post-stroke, vertigo, insomnia, headache, facial paralysis, neuropathy
• Fertility: unexplained infertility, non-implantation, anovulation, low sperm count or motility
• Women’s Health/Gyn: irregular menses, amenorrhea, PMS, menopausal symptoms, cystitis
• Immune: the common cold/flu, frequent colds, chronic bronchitis, allergy, skin conditions, sinusitis
• Gastrointestinal: diarrhea, constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, reflux disease, nausea, ulcer
• And others such as: chronic hepatitis, asthma, quit smoking, chronic fatigue syndrome, palliative care for cancer and so on

There are thousands of original, classical texts about Chinese medicine, most as yet untranslated into English. This list is a small sample from Giovanni Maciocia’s text in English “The Foundations of Chinese Medicine.”

1. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine- Simple Questions (Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen). People’s Health Publishing, Beijing, 1979. First published c. 100 B.C.

“Yin is quiet, Yang is active. Yang gives life, Yin makes it grow...Yang is transformed into Qi, Yin is transformed into material life.”

“Yin is in the Interior and is the material foundation of Yang; Yang is on the Exterior and is the manifestation of Yin.”

2. Spiritual Axis (Ling Shu Jing). People’s Health Publishing, Beijing, 1979. First published c. 100 B.C.

“If the 5 Yin organs are diseased, abnormal reactions will appear at the 12 Source points. If we know the correspondence of Source points to the relevant Yin organ, we can diagnose when a Yin organ is diseased.”

3. Nanjing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. A Revised Explanation of the Classic of Difficulties (Nan Jing Jiao Shi). People’s Health Publishing, Beijing, 1979. First published c. AD 100.

“The Original Qi is the motive force situated between the two kidneys, it is life-giving and is the root of the 12 channels. The Triple Burner acts as the ambassador for the Original Qi, which passes through the three Burners and it then spreads to the 5 Yin and 6 Yang organs (and their channels). The places where the Original Qi stays are the Source points.”

4. Hua Tuo. The Classic of the Secret Transmission (Zhong Cang Jing). Jiangsu Scientific Publishing House, 1985. First published c. AD 198.

5. Nanjing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shang Han Lun Research Group, Discussion on Cold-induced Diseases. (Shang Han Lun). 1980. Shanghai Scientific Publishing House, Shanghai. First published c. AD 220. By Zhang Zhong Jing.

“At the Greater Yang stage, if a headache persists for more than seven days, it is because the pathogenic factor has circulted through the Greater Yang channel. If the pathogenic factor tends to be transmitted to the next channel (Bright Yang channel), needling points on the Stomach channel will stop this transmission.”

6. Discussion of Prescriptions of the Golden Chest (Jin Gui Yao Lue Fang Lun). 1981. Zhejiang Scientific Publishing House, Zhejiang. First published c. AD 220.

7. Yang Ji Zhou. Compendium of Acupuncture (Zhen Jiu Da Cheng). 1980. People’s Health Publishing House, Beijing. First published in 1601.

8. Zhang Jie Bin (also called Zhang Jing Yue). Classic of Categories (Lei Jing). 1982. People’s Health Publishing House, Beijing. First published in 1624

“The Liver stores Blood andBlood is the residence of the Etheral Soul. If the Liver is devidient there is fear, if it is in excess there is anger.”

9. Zhang Jing Yue. Complete Book of Jing Yue (Jing Yue Quan Shu). 1986. Shangai Scientific Publishing House, Shanghai. First published 1634.

10. Tang Zong Hai. Discussion on Blood (Xue Zheng Lun). 1979. People’s Health Publishing House, Beijing. First published in 1884.

Please note there are hundreds of published scientific research articles about acupuncture, and this is simply a random sample of the literature done on PubMed in October, 2003.

For Stress Reduction

1. Nondrug interventions in hypertension prevention and control. Labarthe D, Ayala C. Cardiol Clin 20(2), May 2002, pgs 249-63.

“Evidence for the efficacy of certain nonpharmacologic approaches to preventing and controlling HBP (high blood pressure) is strong. This evidence offers a basis for public health policies and clinical approaches that can greatly affect the incidence and consequences of HBP in the population at large. What is needed now is implementation of the policies and practices addressed here.”

2. An introduction to sequential electric acupuncture (SEA) in the treatment of stress related physical and mental disorders. Chen A. Acupunct Electrother Res 17(4), Oct-Dec 1992, pgs 273-83.

“A method of sequential electrical stimulation to certain acupuncture loci was found to be effective in the treatment of stress related physical and mental disorders. Recent research found that cerebral serotonin has anti-depressant and analgesic effects. It was reported that cerebral serotonin can be released by the stimulation of certain acupuncture loci.”

3. An alternative method to enhance vagal activities and suppress sympathetic activities in humans. Wang JD, Kuo TB, Yang CC. Auton Neurosci 100(1-2), September 30, 2002, pgs 90-95.

4. An uncontrolled pilot study of HT7 for ‘stress’. Chan J, Briscomb D, Waterhouse E, et al. Acupunct Med 20(2 – 3), August 2002, pgs 74-77.

5. Acupuncture inhibits sympathetic activation during mental stress in advanced heart failure patients. Middlekauff HR, Hui K, Yu JL, Hamilton MA, et al. J Card Fail 8(6), December 2002, pgs 399-406.

6. The effects of acupuncture on operative pain and the hormonal responses to stress. Leong RJ, Chernow B. Int Anesthesiol Clin 26(3), Fall 1988, pgs 213-17.

“The blood pressure and heart rate stability that have been observed with acupuncture analgesia have not been sufficiently explained and warrants further investigation,...”

For Mental Health

7. Alternative treatments for depression: empirical support and relevance to women. Manber R, Allen JJ, Morris MM. J Clin Psychiatry 63(7), July 2002, pgs 628-40.

8. The role of complementary and alternative therapies in women’s mental health. Peeke PM, Frishett S. Prim Care 29(1), March 2002, pgs 183-97.

9. Auricular acupuncture: a potential treatment for anxiety. Wang SM, Kain ZN. Anesth Analg 92(2), February 2001, pgs 548-53.

“We conclude that auricular acupuncture at the “relaxation” point can decrease the anxiety level in a population of healthy volunteers.”

For Infertility/Impotence

10. Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy. Paulus EP, Zhang M, Strehler E, et al. Fertility and Sterility Vol. 77, Issue 4, April 2002, pgs 721-24.

“...the results demonstrate that acupuncture therapy improves pregnancy rate.”

11. Does acupuncture treatment affect sperm density in males with very low sperm count? A pilot study. Siterman S, Eltes F, Wolfson H, et al. Andrologia Volume 32, Issue 1, January 2000, pg 31.

“A definite increase in sperm count was detected ....” “Males with genital tract inflammation exhibited the most remarkable improvement in sperm density...” “It is concluded that acupuncture may be a useful, nontraumatic treatment for males with very poor sperm density...”

12. Role of acupuncture in the treatment of female infertility. Chang R, Chung PH, Rosenwaks Z. Fertility and Sterility Vol. 78, Issue 6, December 2002, pgs 1149-53.

“Although the definitive role of acupuncture in the treatment of female infertility is yet to be established, its neuroendocrine effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis and the preliminary clinical data reviewed here justifies further clinical trials to systematically examine the efficacy of acupuncture in treating various conditions related to female infertility...” “The peripheral impact of acupuncture in improving uterine artery blood flow and hence endometrial thickness also provides encouraging data regarding its potential positive effect on implantation.”

13. Electro-acupuncture as a preoperative analgesic method and its effect on implantation rate and neuropeptide Y concentrations in follicular fluid. Stener-Victorin E, Waldenstrom U, Wikland M, et al. Human Reproduction Vol. 18, No. 7, July 2003, pgs 1454-60.

“EA-when used in combination with a paracervical block-has, in two repeated trials, been found to be as good as alfentanil in inducing adequate preoperative analgesia during oocyte aspiration.” “At 2 hours after oocyte aspiration, the EA group experienced significantly less abdominal pain, other pain, nausea and stress and were more calm compared with the alfentanil group.”

14. Alternative treatments in reproductive medicine: much ado about nothing. Stener-Victorin E, Wikland, Waldenstrom U, et al. Human Reproduction Vol. 17, No. 8, August 2002, pgs 1942-46.

“We do agree that there are few well-designed papers on the effectiveness of methods of treatment that are not generally established in Western medicine, but we do not agree that it can best be summarized as’much ado about nothing’. We need to have open scientific minds.” “ In conclusion, it appears that acupuncture may have a beneficial effect on women with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and anovulation, supported by both clinical and experimental evidence.”

For Musculoskeletal/Pain Conditions

15. Acupuncture for chronic low back pain in older patients: a randomized, controlled trial. Meng CF, Wang D, Ngeow J, et al. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2003 Jul 30 [Epub ahead of print].

“CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture is an effective, safe adjunctive treatment for chronic Low Back Pain in older patients.”

16. Acupuncture as a promising treatment for below-level central neuropathic pain: a retrospective study. Rapson LM, Wells N, Pepper J, et al. J Spinal Cord Med, 26(1), 2003 Spring, pgs 21-6.

“Overall, patients whose burning pain was bilateral, symmetric, and constant (P = 0.005) were the most likely to improve.”

17. Interventions in chronic pain management. 3. New frontiers in pain management: complementary techniques. Braverman DL, Ericken JJ, Shah RV, et al. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 84(3 Suppl 1), 2003 Mar, pgs S45-9.

18. Acupuncture ameliorates symptoms in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Chen R, Nickel JC. Urology 61(6), 2003 Jun, pgs 1156-9; discussion 1159.

CONCLUSIONS: “Acupuncture appears to be a safe, effective, and durable treatment in improving symptoms in, and the quality of life of, men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome refractory to treatment. A larger controlled study is required to confirm these encouraging initial results.”

For Gastrointestinal Conditions

19. Effect of electrical stimulation on acupuncture points in diabetic patients with gastric dysrhythmia: a pilot study. Chang CS, Ko CW, Wu CY. Digestion 64(3), 2001, pgs 184-90.

20. Acupressure relieves the symptoms of motion sickness and reduces abnormal gastric activity. Stern RM, Jokerst MD, Muth ER, et al. Altern Ther Health Med 7(4), Jul-Aug 2001, pgs 91-4.

21. The effect of acupuncture on the gastric acid-forming function in patients with duodenal peptic ulcer. Organ AN. (In Russian: Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult.) 1999 Sep-Oct;(5):12-4.

“Combination of auricular and corporal acupuncture enhances acid production suppression in gastric body and improves alkalinizing function of the antrum.”

How Acupuncture Works

22. Central nervous pathway for acupuncture stimulation: localization of processing with functional MR imaging of the brain – preliminary experience. Wu MT, Hsieh JC, Xiong J, et al. Radiology 212(1), July 1999, pgs 133-41.

23. Functional magnetic resonance imaging detects activation of the visual association cortex during laser acupuncture of the foot in humans. Siedentopf CM, Golaszewski SM, Mottaghy FM, et al. Neurosci Lett 327(1) July 12, 2002, pgs 53-61.

“These results indicate that fMRI has the potential to elucidate effects of acupuncture on brain activity.”

Other Articles

24. National Institutes of Health, Consensus Development Conference Statement, November 3-5, 1997.

CONCLUSIONS: “Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely practiced in the United States. While there have been many studies of its potential usefulness, many of these studies provide equivocal results because of design, sample size, and other factors. The issue is further complicated by inherent difficulties in the use of appropriate controls, such as placebos and sham acupuncture groups. However, promising results have emerged, for example, showing efficacy of acupuncture in adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in postoperative dental pain. There are other situations such as addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma, in which acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative or be included in a comprehensive management program. Further research is likely to uncover additional areas where acupuncture interventions will be useful.”

25. Is acupuncture safe? A systematic review of case reports. Lao L, Hamilton GR, Fu J, et al. Altern Ther Health Med 9(1), 2003 Jan-Feb, pgs 72-83.

CONCLUSIONS:“ ... acupuncture performed by trained practitioners using clean needle techniques is a generally safe procedure.”

26. World Health Organization Traditional Medicine Strategy.

The World Health Organization recognizes more than 300 diseases that acupuncture can treat or prevent.

27. 2020 Vision: NIH Heads Foresee the Future. Marsha F. Goldsmith (ed.). JAMA Vol. 282 No. 24, December 22/29, 1999.

From the head of the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Stephen E. Straus, when he anticipated the status of CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) in the year 2020:

“As a result of rigorous scientific investigation, several therapeutic and preventive modalities currently deemed elements of complementary and alternative medicine will have been proven effective. Therefore, by 2020, these interventions will have been incorporated into conventional medical education and practice, and the term “complementary and alternative medicine” will be superseded by the concept of “integrative medicine.”

The biological and pharmacological basis for effectiveness of selected herbal and nutritional supplements will be clarified, leading to their standardization and to the rational design of yet more potent congeners. Advances in neurobiology will elucidate mechanisms underlying ancient practices such as acupuncture and meditation, as well as the phenomenon of “the placebo effect.”

Other modalities will have proven unsafe or ineffective, and an informed public will have rejected them.

The field of integrative medicine will be seen as providing novel insights and tools for human health, and not as a source of intellectual and philosophical tension that insinuates itself between and among practitioners of the healing arts and their patients.”

California Acupuncture License

Diplomate in Acupuncture (NCCAOM)