| The number one question I get from patients is: | | | | and connective tissue have been shown to |
| How does acupuncture work? They will often ask | | | | conduct energy and could be the biophysical basis |
| during a treatment once they start to feel the | | | | for the communication system affected by |
| effect of pain relief and a deep sense of | | | | acupuncture and moxibustion. Dr. Yoshio |
| relaxation. | | | | Nagahama and Hiroshi Motoyama, Ph.D, two |
| Most articles I have found on the subject either | | | | leading researchers form Japan, have |
| give a classical view of acupuncture using | | | | independently concluded that the meridian system |
| terminology that is foreign to most westerners or | | | | does in fact lie in the superficial fascia. |
| they focus on effects that occur in the body as | | | | Another concept that provide an additional |
| result of receiving an acupuncture treatment. The | | | | explanation of the movement of energy through |
| most clearly documented physiological effect of | | | | the body if the research of the Bjorn |
| acupuncture is the release of endogenous opioid | | | | Nordenstrom. His discovered that an electrical |
| peptides. These are pain relieving compounds that | | | | current is transmitted though the circulatory |
| are naturally produced within the body such as | | | | system via ionic transfers and and difference of |
| endorphins, enkaphalins, and dynorphins. Dr. | | | | electrical potential in the tissue-capillary bed. It well |
| Zang-Hee Cho, a medical physicist and professor | | | | documented that acupuncture increases |
| at the University of California, has also shown with | | | | micro-circulation at the site of needle insertion. |
| the aid magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that | | | | The increased circulation as a result of |
| certain area of the brain are influenced by the | | | | acupuncture has a positive effect on the electrical |
| insertion of acupuncture points on the body. | | | | transmission discovered by Nordenstrom. |
| There are also various theories that involve the | | | | Another discovery that has profound implication is |
| nervous system such as the gate theory. | | | | the discovery of bio-photons by German |
| Before we go any further, I would like to | | | | biophysicist Fritz-Albert Popp. Biophotons are |
| introduce a concept from quantum physic that all | | | | weak emissions of light that are radiated from |
| matter, once thought to be solid, is really | | | | the cells of all living things. Research has shown |
| composed of nothing more than pulsating, | | | | that there is bio-communication that occurs |
| energetic vibrations. Qi (pronounced Chi) the | | | | between different organisms through biophoton |
| Chinese term for the energy present in all matter. | | | | emission and that the biophoton fieldreflects |
| Qi as defined by the Chinese for thousand of | | | | biological rhythms as well as left-right symmetry |
| years describes the phenomenon described by | | | | of corresponding points in the case of healthy |
| quantum physic today that solid matter is nothing | | | | individuals. Healthy cells will also have a different |
| more than vibrating strings of energy. | | | | biophotonic signature than the same type cell that |
| Acupuncture regulates the flow of energy or qi | | | | is unhealthy or in a disease state. This important |
| through the body by inserting fine needles at | | | | discovery provides another explanation for the |
| certain acupuncture points in the body that lie | | | | communication that occurs throughout the body |
| along organized pathways called meridians. The | | | | as a result of acupuncture and moxibustion and |
| acupuncture points and meridian pathways | | | | the absence of physical structure that |
| coincide with the points on the surface of the | | | | corresponds with the meridian system. |
| body where there is lowered electrical resistance | | | | I have presented three mechanisms through |
| and and greater electrical conductivity, according | | | | which is energy is transmitted through body. It is |
| to measurements of many scientists. This flow of | | | | likely that acupuncture and moxibustion facilitate |
| energy that circulates through the meridians acts | | | | the flow ofenergy through all three mechanisms |
| as a communication network that promotes | | | | presented in this article. As the fields of quantum |
| healing and normal function of the body's | | | | physics and biophysics advance, we are sure to |
| systems. | | | | further uncover more about the essence of how |
| We must also consider the intricate network of | | | | acupuncture and moxibustion create beneficial |
| connective tissue, known as the fascial system. | | | | changes in the body. |
| The fascial system literally connect everything in | | | | References: |
| the body. You trace any one point on the body | | | | Matsumoto, Kiiko and Birch, Stephen. Hara |
| to any other point in the body running up or down | | | | Diagnosis:Reflections on the Sea. Massachusetts: |
| or outside to inside. The meridians also travel up | | | | Paradigm Publications, 1988. |
| and down the body and from exterior to interior | | | | Maccioca, Giovanni. The Foundations of Chinese |
| connecting to their associated organs. The fascia | | | | Medicine. |