May/June 2011 News from the Valley’s Integrated Health Community Acupuncture and the Western


Medicine Model By Diane Sheppard, Ph.D., L.Ac. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)


and acupuncture employ a paradigm that uses the concept of Qi, or vital energy, traveling along defined pathways called meridians to both explain and treat dis- ease and to restore harmonious, healthy body function. Qi can not be measured by standard western means and there are no corresponding anatomical struc- tures to explain the meridians.


That said, in the 1940’s Dr. Reinhardt


Voll discovered that electrical resistance on human skin is not homogenous and that meridians exist all over the body. These may be demonstrated as electri- cal fields and measured using an ohmmeter- like instrument. Within the next decade, Voll learned that the body had at least 1000 points of discontinuous resis- tance on the skin which follow the 12 lines of the classical Chinese merid- ians.1


This was the first


scientific evidence that the theories and prac- tice of classical TCM were more than mere myth and tradition.


Given the ever in- creasing evidence of the effectiveness of TCM in treating a variety of disorders (the WHO’s review and analysis of controlled clini- cal trials involving acupuncture lists 293 such studies) a conundrum exists among those trained by the scientific method of Western medicine, namely just how does TCM actually work? Several theo- ries have been postulated including:


The Gate Control theory Put forth by Wall and Melzak in 1959,


Gate Control states that the transmission of nerve impulses from afferent fibers to spinal cord transmission cells is modulat- ed by a spinal-gating mechanism in the part of the spine referred to as the dor- sal horn. The spinal-gating mechanism is influenced by the relative amount of activity in large-diameter and small- diameter fibers. Activity in large fibers tends to inhibit transmission (close the gate) while small-fiber activity tends to facilitate transmission (open the gate).2 It is considered that by increasing activ- ity in the large fibers through needling, acupuncture activates receptors that inhibit the transmission of nociceptive signals in the dorsal horn thus “shutting the gate” for pain stimuli – and offering a means of pain control.


Blood Chemistry theory Acupuncture can affect blood chem-


istry through blood concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol, and phospho- lipids. Numerous examples reveal that


the regulatory action of acupuncture is bi-directional.3


Acupuncture lowers the


blood pressure in patients with hyper- tension and elevates it in patients with hypotension; increases gastric secretion in patients with hypoacidity, and lowers it with those suffering from hyperacid- ity. Although the results are amply docu- mented, the exact mechanism for this is still unclear.


Neurotransmitter theory Certain neurotransmitter levels (such


as Seratonin and Noradrenaline) are af- fected by acupuncture. By stimulating neural pathways, acupuncture affects higher brain areas, stimulating the secre- tion of beta-endorphins and enkephalins in the brain and spinal cord. The release of these neurotransmitters influ- ences both the immune system and the antinoci- ceptive system involved in gate theory.


Autonomic Nervous System theory


Acupuncture stimu-


lates the release of nor- epinephrine, acetylcho- line and several types of opioids, affecting changes in their turn- over rate, normalizing the autonomic nervous


system, and reducing pain. Vascular-interstitial theory Acupuncture manipulates the electri-


cal system of the body by creating or enhancing closed-circuit transport in tis- sues. This facilitates healing by allowing the transfer of material and electrical energy between normal and injured tis- sues. This theory fits well with the find- ings of electro-galvanic skin resistance differentials at acupuncture points.


All these theories go far in explaining–


in western medical terms–the various biological processes by which acupunc- ture affects bodily functions within bio- physical systems.


As more research is conducted we are confident that precise mechanisms that instigate these biological processes by the insertion of needles will be better understood and universally accepted.


Diane Shepard is a licensed acupunctur- ist with a Ph.D. in Oriental Medicine. Dr. Sheppard trained in both China and the U.S and recently opened AcQPoint Well- ness Center in La Quinta. 760-775-7900


www.AcQPoint.com 1) Voll R. New Electroacupuncture (EAV) measurement points for various eye structures. Amer. Journal of Acupuncture. March 1979. 2) Robert Melzak, Pain Forum, The Official Journal Of The Ameri- can Pain Society, Vol 5, pp 138-158, 1996. 3) Acupuncture: Review And Analysis Of Reports On Controlled Clinical Trials, World Health Organization, 1997


www.acqpoint.com


Natural Choices


13


www.lovinghealinghands.com www.DesertHealthNews.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20