ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION

Recordings of acupuncture and moxibustion were seen as early as Han

Dynasty (202BC-AD220) in Chinese history. In that era, two silk rolls describe the
earliest outlook on theory of meridians and collaterals called Jing Luo and the
earliest traditional book were The Yellow Emperors Canon of Internal Medicine
about 3000 years ago.
Acupunture itself is a simple procedure administered by inserting very fine
thin needles into the acupoints along the different meridians, the pathway of
energy. Along with acupuncture, the application of moxibustion is also used for
treatment. Moxa is the dried form of a herb more commonly known as mugwort,
Artemisia vulgaris. When applied to acupoints, its warming and invigorating
properties penetrates the skin and activate the channels. A common used today is
moxa stick where compressed moxa leaf is fashioned into a cigar. The end is lit and
held above the skin to warm or directly to the needle to help the body remove
blockage of energy.
Both acupuncture and moxibustion have similar effects in removing
blockages in meridian pathways. The meridian and collateral theory is one of the
foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine and along with theories of Ying and
Yang, the Five Elements of the organ systems, Qi and blood. The main trunk in this
system is the 12 regular meridian points which divided into six Yong channels and
six Yang channels. The six Yang channels are further divided into pairings referred to
as the Yang Ming (large intestine channel), Tai Yang (small intestine channel) and
Shao Yang (triple warmer channel). The six Ying channels are paired into Tai Yin
(lung channel) , Shao Yin (heart channel), and Jue Yin (pericardium channel). These
are distributed symmetrically on both sides of the body, with one of each category
running along the upper lims and one of each along the lower limbs, as well as
along the back and sides of the trunk. Each of these 12 channels relates to an organ
and they flows to the respective internal organ.
The collaterals are smaller and thinner branches of the meridians, which run
horizontally and obliquely across the body and are distributed more superficially.
The meridians and collaterals connect the whole body form the internal organs to
the sensory organs, the orifices, the muscles and tendons, the skin and hair, the
bones and vessels of the brain and tissues of the body. Because of the
interconnectedness of the body, the meridians and collaterals are able to reflect the
changes on the surface tissue, the organs and sensory organs.
Changes such as numbness, tenderness and pain when we are injured
indicate the damage and sometimes these symptoms occur along the region where
the meridians and collaterals are distributed thus indicate the abnormality in the
internal organ system. For example, tenderness in the abdominal region can
indicate abnormalities in digestive system. However, because the meridians and

collaterals of the spleen and stomach which are organs relating to the digestive
system, run along the anterior and medial aspects of the legs, we will find
tenderness on the lower leg among these meridians.
Acupoints are the small areas of the skin that show marked difference in
electrical potential form the other areas of the skin. They are identifiable with
galvanometric measurement. The areas sensitive to touch are called reactive points
or trigger points. In general acupoints are categorized into three types, the meridian
points, the extra points and the Ashi points or ouch points.
The use of anatomical locations such of muscles and joints as landmarks
employed to locate the acupoints. Marks created through movements such as
creases, spaces or depressions are used in point location. Example, L1-11 is found
at the lateral end of the crease in elbow when flexing the arm. One measuring
method is using the length and width of the patients finger and the middle finger
length is referred as cun about 2cm (as in the width of the second joint of thumb).
Another one is proportional measurement where the distance between different
bone segments or certain regions of body is established into a set of number of cun.
With the integration of acupuncture and moxibustion into the field of
biomedicine, new explanations for the effect of acupuncture began to be accepted
in science theories.