An introduction to western medical acupuncture

250 Pages·2008·3.35 MB·English

An imprint of Elsevier Limited
# 2008, Elsevier Limited. All rights reserved.
The rights of Adrian White, Mike Cummings and Jacqueline Filshie to be identified as authors of
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Foreword
This excellent, authoritative and well-referenced book is in a class of its
own because it is for the first time that the recently developed Western
approach to acupuncture, based on the present-day neurophysiologic princi-
ples described in its pages, has been written about in such a lucid and wide-
ranging manner.
All the various aspects of the subject are dealt with both comprehensively
and cogently and from the information provided there can be no doubt that
this particular form of acupuncture has a sound scientific basis and that its
employment for certain well-defined disorders is becoming ever increasingly
evidence-based.
It has been written by three eminent members of the British Medical
Acupuncture Society, an organisation which over the 26 years since its incep-
tion has done so much to bring the principles and practice of scientifically-
based acupuncture within the ambit of present-day orthodox medicine.
I therefore commend this book to all health professionals. The time has
come when those who don’t necessarily wish to use acupuncture themselves
should nonetheless be aware of the indications for its employment so
that they may be in a position to refer suitable patients where appropriate.
Those who do wish to add it to their existing therapeutic skills will find this
particular treatise to be an invaluable mine of information.
Peter Baldry MB; FRCP
Preface
There are numerous textbooks devoted to acupuncture, covering both theo-
retical and practical aspects of the therapy. The majority of books focus on
traditional theory and practice, but this one takes quite a different view. It
combines the latest ideas about the neurophysiological mechanisms of acu-
puncture with a practical approach that is directed largely by those mechan-
isms. Classical point locations and names are retained because they are
useful and well known, but this book lays much greater emphasis on their seg-
mental innervation than on any concepts of meridians.
Western medical acupuncture is used following an orthodox diagnosis and
applies scientific principles, taking account of this diagnosis, to formulate a
treatment to relieve symptoms. It is just one therapeutic method alongside
others, and fits perfectly into the wider approach of the whole of Western
medicine, which considers both the psychosocial and the physical wellbeing
of the individual.
Thus, Western medicine that includes this form of acupuncture is one
example of truly integrated medicine: a traditional therapy has been investi-
gated, re-interpretedwithin amodern scientific context, and finally incorporated,
where appropriate, within modern health care.
This book is a long-awaited companion to Medical Acupuncture: a Western
Scientific Approach.
Acknowledgements
This book represents the ideas, knowledge and wisdom of many people, and
the authors are grateful to everyone with whom they have had conversation,
or whose articles they have read or lectures they have heard, and who have
contributed in some way or other to this work, which tries to make sense
of acupuncture in terms of Western science. They are literally too many to list
here, and the references at the end of the book give some indication of the
number and diversity of researchers who are engaged in the project of under-
standing acupuncture. We are also grateful for the help, patience and profes-
sionalism of Karen Morley and Kerry McGechie at Elsevier.
Despite the best intentions of all the above, we willingly accept responsibility
for any errors or omissions.
Glossary
Term Description
Please note: a list of classical meridians and their standard abbreviations appears
in Tables 16.6 and 16.7 on page 218
action potentials A nerve’s electrical response to stimulation; for
example, by an acupuncture needle. The action
potentials travel (or ‘propagate’) along the nerve
fibre to the synapse (see below)
acupuncture point Traditionally, a precise location where the
needle should be inserted. Interpreted more
loosely here
affective (component of pain) The emotional aspect of pain, which is troubling
or upsetting; ‘the pain is awful’
afferent nerve A nerve that brings information from the
periphery towards the central nervous system –
sensory nerve
analgesia Analgesia strictly means complete removal of
pain, but ‘acupuncture analgesia’ means pain
reduction, often used in conjunction with
anaesthesia from drugs
auricular acupuncture Acupuncture in which needles are inserted into
the external ear
autonomic nerves Nerves responsible for controlling the body’s
functions that are not within conscious control
channel (¼meridian) Invisible lines on the surface of the body
connecting acupuncture points. No physical
structure to explain these channels has been
found. In traditional Chinese medicine, channels
are believed to be the route for the flow of ‘qi’
de qi Chinese word for needle sensation, literally
‘numbness, distension, heaviness and ache’; also
tingling and spreading sensation
dermatome The area of body surface innervated by a sensory
nerve from a single spinal segment
dorsal horn The part of the grey matter within the spinal
segment where afferent nerves terminate