What is acupuncture?
You may have heard different explanations of what acupuncture is and how it works. Here I will offer my opinion, based on my training and many years of experience.
Acupuncture is a type of treatment modality, wherein an acupuncturist punctures a special area of the skin with a hair-thin needle. The goal is to produce a mechanical stimulation of the tactile receptors and to engage the neuroendocrine system so it will respond to such a stimulation. Sounds simple, but the physiological mechanisms behind are very complex. This action will activate several cascading reactions, designed by nature to bring the body back to the state of homeostasis- natural balance and health.
Understanding acupuncture points
Acupuncture points (Acu-Points) are not really “points” but areas up to 1cm in diameter. The size of a single point may actually vary in the same person, depending on the time of day or health condition. Acupuncture points have a different electrical resistance than non-point areas. Usually, it is much lower than in surrounding areas.
Acu-Points are found in close proximity to the ends of nerves and vessels and they make an intrinsic map of pathways on the skin. Scientists found that acu-point areas are filled with sensory and chemical receptors, specifically reacting to touch, prick, pressure, cold, vibration and heat.
It was also discovered that acu-points are richly infused with mast cells; large connective tissue cells that contain histamine, heparin, bradykinins, interleukins, serotonin, tumor necrosis factors, and many other mediators of inflammation, neurotransmitters and bioactive substances.
When mast cells are punctured, those chemicals are immediately released to initiate inflammation and a natural repair process. Through a very complicated embryological, electromagnetic, neurological and chemical relationship, the skin is connected with every cell in every organ. Using acupuncture, we can influence organs and systems.
How acupuncture works
When I ask people what they know about acupuncture mostly I hear, “Hmm..there is some..Qi? And there are...channels? And acupuncture does something with Qi?”
I will not be surprised if one distant day in the future, technology will be able to map a network or field of a yet unknown frequency, which envelopes the physical body and is another communication system between the external world and every cell in the body. I hope that quantum physicists and doctors get together and present the world with a new discovery.
As of right now, what’s evident is that the pathways of the "Qi channels" coincide with the pathways of blood vessels, nerves and lymphatic vessels and fascia. The Chinese character for “Qi” has multiple translations: air, gas, and breath.
