by Adam Cantor, MS, LAcOne of the leading schools of thought on the physiology behind the Qi mechanism or sensation elicited during acupuncture involves the fascial network of the body, a massive web of non-specific connective tissue that creates planes and groupings of muscle and tissue, not unlike acupuncture meridians. This tissue surrounds and connects every muscle, down to the myofibril, and winds around and throughout every organ of the body. It is the matter that connects us and helps to give us shape. Fascia has been shown as an important element in our posture and movement organization. Disruptions, knots, tears or tangles in this tissue super-highway are what prevent us from reaching optimal health and can be viewed as a form of Qi stagnation in Chinese medicine, preventing optimal flow of information or fluids.
(For visual evidence of our myofascial networks and their similarity to acupuncture meridians, please read “Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual & Movement Therapists” by Tom Myers. Please note however that “Anatomy Trains” is not light reading so for those who aren’t “anatomy nerds” like myself, you might want to look for another source).
https://youtu.be/uzy8-wQzQMY
The Cochrane Reviews: The newest, strongest and the least biased reviews on acupuncture. This is based off a number of recent systematic reviews from the Cochrane collaborative, that state that acupuncture is a valuable treatment option for a number of conditions.
http://www.rmtedu.com/blog/updated-cochrane-reviews-of-acupuncture
(Reuters Health) - People with depression may benefit as much from acupuncture as they do from counseling, suggests a new study.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-acupuncture-depression-idUSBRE98N17420130924
Acupuncture with moxibustion is more effective than drugs for the alleviation of knee pain. Research published in the Anhui Medical and Pharmaceutical Journal demonstrates that acupuncture combined with moxibustion outperforms nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. NSAIDs provided a faster onset of initial effective therapeutic actions. However, acupuncture provided superior long-term relief from pain and improvements in range of motion.
Read More: http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1607-acupuncture-surpasses-drugs-for-knee-pain-relief
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. After a year of adjusting medications and supplements to control a heart rhythm condition in my patient, "Billie," she came in with a big smile and a bounce. In this case, she was the teacher.
We shared a holistic attitude to health but had been frustrated by the unpredictable heart racing, and on her own she had begun frequent sessions with an acupuncturist she was acquainted with. In just a short time she documented a reduction in the bothersome episodes, and after a few months she was enjoying over a 95% improvement.
Her experience led me to research the use of acupuncture more broadly for my patients and it is now part of my “tool box” for restoring health at a root cause level. Although more research is needed, there are five heart conditions that I have seen a response to with acupuncture therapy.
Read more: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-20157/why-i-prescribe-acupuncture-a-cardiologist-explains.html
Acupuncture alleviates depression and insomnia. Research published in the Shanghai Journal of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Ye et al.) finds acupuncture 90% effective in improving total sleep duration and sleep quality for patients with depression. Alleviation of insomnia directly correlated to improvements in the mental and physical health of study participants. Acupuncture treatments lowered relapse rates and produced similar clinical results as antidepressants. Notably, acupuncture did not produce any adverse effects.
Read More: http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1597-acupuncture-rivals-antidepressants-for-insomnia-and-depression
"Treating children with chronic pain is challenging; there is limited evidence on the efficacy of pain-relieving therapies among this population. But according to new research, acupuncture may be a safe and effective treatment strategy."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/304311.php
