Acupuncture

Acupuncture (from Lat. acus, \"needle\" (noun), and pungere, \"prick\" (verb)) or in Standard Mandarin, zhēn jiǔ (針灸, needle therapy) is a technique of inserting and manipulating needles into \"acupuncture points\" on the body. more...

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According to acupunctural teachings this will restore health and well-being, and is particularly good at treating pain. The definition and characterization of these points is standardized by the World Health Organization . Acupuncture is thought to have originated in China and is most commonly associated with Traditional Chinese medicine. Other types of acupuncture (Japanese, Korean, and classical Chinese acupuncture) are practiced and taught throughout the world.

Whether acupuncture is efficacious or a placebo has been the subject of ongoing scientific research. Scientists have conducted reviews of existing clinical trials according to the protocols of evidence-based medicine; some have found efficacy for headache, low back pain and nausea, but for most conditions have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to determine whether or not acupuncture is effective. The World Health Organisation (WHO), the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) of the National Institute of Health (NIH), the American Medical Association (AMA) and various government reports have also studied and commented on the efficacy of acupuncture. There is general agreement that acupuncture is safe when administered by well-trained practitioners, and that further research is warranted.

History

In China, the practice of acupuncture can perhaps be traced as far back as the 1^st millennium BC, and archeological evidence has been identified with the period of the Han dynasty (from 202 BC to 220 AD). Forms of it are also described in the literature of traditional Korean medicine where it is called chimsul. It is also important in Kampo, the traditional medicine system of Japan.

Recent examinations of Ötzi, a 5000-year-old mummy found in the Alps, have identified over fifty tattoos on his body, some of which are located on acupuncture points that would today be used to treat ailments Ötzi suffered from. Some scientists believe that this is evidence that practices similar to acupuncture were practiced elsewhere in Eurasia during the early bronze age. According to an article published in The Lancet by Dorfer et al.: \"We hypothesised that there might have been a medical system similar to acupuncture (Chinese Zhenjiu: needling and burning) that was practised in Central Europe 5200 years ago...A treatment modality similar to acupuncture thus appears to have been in use long before its previously known period of use in the medical tradition of ancient China. This raises the possibility of acupuncture having originated in the Eurasian continent at least 2000 years earlier than previously recognised.\" , .

Read more at Wikipedia.org