ACUPUNCTURE TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

HISTORY The practice of acupuncture is over 5000 years old, dating back to the Zoroastrian civilization. The first needles were made of stone (rumour has it that the first ever treatment occurred when Barney accidentally stuck Fred on the jobsite.) The ancient Chinese philosopher Tao (pronounced “dao”), who predates Confuscius, developed the FIVE ELEMENT theory. The principles of the five element theory are used in both TCM and Feng Shui.

YIN & YANG (and all that stuff) Everything in the Universe is Yin & Yang. Yin & Yang are opposite in polarity yet compliment each other to work together. They coexist so well that they cannot live without each other. Therefore nothing is just Yin or Yang. Some things are more Yin, others more Yang. One can transform into the other so the balance of Yin & Yang in any one object or entity is constantly changing, but each object or entity will have a specific balance point that it will strive to achieve and maintain.

FIVE ELEMENT THEORY Yin & Yang create 5 main elements: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. Energy (Qi) moves along two distinct pathways when conditions are functioning in a balanced and harmonious manner. SHEN circulation – clockwise movement from one element to the next. Each element “feeds” the next, as a mother feeds the child. KO circulation – clockwise movement skipping over one element. Each element dominates/controls the one that is second in line, as one partner will typically dominate a relationship.

FIVE ELEMENTS - ORGANS Each organ in the human body corresponds to an element:  WATER: Kidneys [K] (yin) & Urinary Bladder [UB] (yang).  WOOD: Liver [Liv] (yin) & Gall Bladder [GB] (yang).  FIRE: Heart [H]/Pericardium [P] (yin) & Small Intestine [SI]/Sanjiao [Sj] or [TW] (yang).  EARTH: Spleen [Sp] (yin) & Stomach [St] (yang).  METAL: Lungs [L] (yin) & Large Intestine [LI] (yang).

ORGAN WATCH There are 12 organs in TCM and there is 24 hours in a day. Each organ has a two hour period at the same time each day, regardless of where you are, in which it possesses a greater amount of Qi. During this time the organ has the best opportunity to perform its duties. When an organ’s Qi is imbalanced, Yin & Yang are not at their harmonious levels, the person may exhibit symptoms relating to that organ consistently at a specific time of day.

ORGAN-BODY CONNECTIONS ORGANTISSUES/FUNCTIONSENSE KidneysBones, joints, teeth, vitalhearing/ears energy, head hair, fertility. LiverTendons, regulation & vision/eyes transport of blood, hormone regulation. Heart/Brain/mental activity, nerves,talking/tongue Pericardiumblood vessels, sexual organs.

ORGAN-BODY cont’d ORGANTISSUES/FUNCTIONSENSE SpleenMuscles/soft tissues, bodytaste/lips & mouth fluids, immunity. LungsSkin, body hairsmell/nose

MERIDIANS ( Energy Channels ) There are 14 primary meridians that are needled in acupuncture. Each organ (12) has a pair, one on the right side of the body and an identical one on the left side. The other two meridians are located along the midline of the trunk of the body. The posterior one is called the DU meridian or Governing Vessel and the anterior one is called the REN meridian or Converging Vessel. Each meridian has specific points along its pathway that, when stimulated energetically, can alter the flow of Qi along its own meridian as well as other meridians. Over the centuries practitioners have discovered connections between specific points and physical/emotional/mental functions.

MERIDIANS cont’d ORGAN MERIDIANS: oAll of the Yin meridians start or end in the chest and all of the Yang meridians start or end in the head. o6 of the meridians start or end in the fingers and the other 6 start or end in the fingers. oEach point has a Chinese name but points are universally referred to using a numbering system. For example L 7 is the seventh point on the Lung meridian. oThere are also extra points throughout the body that do not lie on a meridian but have been discovered to have specific positive effects.

POINT LOCATION Each point is located using anatomical landmarks and a measurement called the CUN (choon). One cun is the width of the interphalangeal joint on the person’s thumb. Two cun is the width of the proximal interphalangeal joints of the 2 nd, 3 rd and half of the 4 th fingers, with the fingers together. Three cun is the proximal interphalangeal joints of fingers 2-5.

DISTAL POINTS The 6 distal points are named for being located towards the distal end of the extremities and are not only good for treating their local area but they also represent and treat larger areas of the body.  LI 4 – Most influential analgesic point, head, immune system. Located between the thumb and the 2 nd metacarpal.  L 7 – Cervical spine, neck and lungs. Located just proximal to the radial styloid process.  P 6 – Chest and upper abdomen. Located on the anterior forearm, 2 cun proximal to the wrist crease, between the tendons of Palmaris Longus and FCR.

DISTAL POINTS cont’d  St 36 – Lower abdomen. Located 3 cun distally from the inferior patella, one finger breadth lateral to the tibial crest.  Sp 6 – Perineum and pelvic organs. Located 3 cun proximally from the inferior tip of the medial malleolus, posterior to the medial border of the tibia.  UB 40 – Lumbo-sacral region, urogenital area. Located on the popliteal line, midway between the tibial condyles.

INFLUENTIAL POINTS Eight points that are useful in treating specific organs, systems and tissues.  Liv 13 – All yin organs. Located at the tip of the 11 th rib.  REN 12 – All yang organs. Located 4 cun proximally from the centre of the umbilicus.  L 9 – Vascular system. Located at the radial end of the wrist flexor crease, between the radial artery and the tendon of APL.  UB 11 – Bones and cartilage. Located 1.5 cun laterally from the spinous process of T1.

INFLUENTIAL POINTS cont’d  REN 17 – Respiratory system. Located on the midline of the chest at the level of the 4 th intercostal space.  UB 17 – Blood. Located 1.5 cun laterally from the spinous process of T7.  GB 34 – Muscles and tendons. Located in the depression anterior and inferior to the head of the fibula.  GB 39 – Marrow and Dura. Located 3 cun proximally from the inferior tip of the lateral malleolus on the anterior border of the fibula.

BACK-SHU POINTS Each organ has a pair of points located on the Urinary Bladder meridian that influence the organ in a generally positive manner. All points are 1.5 cun from the midline at the following levels: Lung – T3Pericardium – T4 Heart – T5Liver – T9 Gall Bladder – T10Spleen – T11 Stomach – T12Sanjiao – L1 Kidney – L2Large Intestine – L4 Small Intestine – S1Urinary Bladder – S2

TREATMENT PROTOCOLS  Frontal headache: LI 4, GB 14, Yintang  Temporal headache: Taiyang, Sj 5, GB 20  Occipital headache: DU 15, UB 10, UB 60  Migraine headache: GB 8, GB 14, Taiyang, Sj 5, UB 62  General headache: Yintang, DU 15, LI 4 with P 8, Sj 5  Sinus congestion: DU 23, Yintang, LI 20, GB 20, L 7  TMJ pain: LI 4, St 7, GB 2  Indigestion: St 21, St 25, REN 12, St 36, P 6 Sp 4  Constipation: St 25, REN 12, Sp 15, St 36, St 37, GB 34  Bronchitis: L 5, L 7, LI 4, LI 11, DU 14, DU 23, UB 13, St 40

TX PROTOCOLS cont’d  Shoulder pain: St 38, GB 41, GB 34, UB 57, LI 11, LI 15, LI 16, SI , Sj 14  Elbow pain: LI 11, SI 3, Sj 3, LI 4, GB 34, SI 8, Sj 10, UB 11  Wrist/hand pain: LI 4, Sj 6, SI 3, SJ 3, LI 11, GB 34, UB11  Hip pain/thigh pain: GB 30, GB 34, UB 11, UB 40, UB 54, St 36, St 31, St 34, St 44  Knee pain: St 36, St 35, St 34, GB 34, Sp 9, Sp 6, GB 39, UB 11, K 3, UB 60, Heding, Xiyan  Ankle/foot pain: St 36, GB 34, UB 11, Sp 6, GB 39, GB 40, GB 41, UB 60, UB 62, K 3

MORE TX PROTOCOLS  Upper scapular/cervical pain: GB 21, Sj 15, LI 16, UB 10 – 17, UB 41 – 46, GB 20, DU 14, DU 15, SI 14  Lumbar pain: UB 22 – 28, UB 40, Sp 6, Sj 6, SI 3, DU 14  Sciatica: GB 30, GB 34, GB 39, UB 37, UB 57, UB 54, UB 25 – 28  Allergies : Sp 10, UB 16, UB 13, DU 14  Inducing labour: LI 4, Sp 6, UB 32, St 36

OTHER USEFUL POINTS DU 20 & Sishencong – Sedate or relax for insomnia. DU 26 – Cramping, muscle spasms. Use with K 1 to waken a person. DU 14 – Best autoimmune point. K 27 – Commonly known as “brain buttons”, stimulates/regulates the heart. UB 67 – Turning a breach fetus. REN 22 – Acute asthma/respiratory stress, hyperthyroidism.