Define & describe acupuncture
Acupuncture is a popular ancient Chinese medicine which origins can be tracked back around 2500 years. It works on the premise that the human body has energy flow (Qi) patterns that must be free and flowing; disruptions to the Qi may be the cause for disease or illness (Medicine Net). Acupuncture works by inserting thin needles into certain points in the body’s meridians to free up these energy flow patterns and restore the body to a healthy, balanced and harmonised state. The most common ailments presented to an acupuncturist tend to be pain related conditions, however as the world becomes more and more educated on the modality, people are using acupuncture for a variety of reasons (Acupuncture).
Brief history …show more content…
Acupuncture is of no exception. The way western medicine and alternative medicine treat illnesses and injury are vastly contrasting. To put this concept into simple terms, western medicine tends to treat the problem at hand, whereas Chinese or alternative medicine attempt to treat the whole body, mind and spirit. It is important to have both of these types of medicine in practice, however over the years many people have belittled the alternative medical profession on the basis of lack of scientific evidence. Unfair as it may be, due to the strong opinion of some medical doctors and scientists, people were turned off alternative medicine. An example of how strongly some bio medical practitioners are against natural medicine became apparent in 2012 when 400 high profile doctors, medical researchers and scientists joined forces to form lobby group Friends of Science in Medicine (FSM) in order to have ‘alternative medicine’ degrees removed from Australian universities (ABC, 2012). FSM claimed that these university courses were “putting the public at risk”. Some universities removed their natural therapy courses and the universities that refused to do so, stood by the importance of natural medicine, stating that they are very much evidence and science-based (ABC,
Acupuncture is a popular ancient Chinese medicine which origins can be tracked back around 2500 years. It works on the premise that the human body has energy flow (Qi) patterns that must be free and flowing; disruptions to the Qi may be the cause for disease or illness (Medicine Net). Acupuncture works by inserting thin needles into certain points in the body’s meridians to free up these energy flow patterns and restore the body to a healthy, balanced and harmonised state. The most common ailments presented to an acupuncturist tend to be pain related conditions, however as the world becomes more and more educated on the modality, people are using acupuncture for a variety of reasons (Acupuncture).
Brief history …show more content…
Acupuncture is of no exception. The way western medicine and alternative medicine treat illnesses and injury are vastly contrasting. To put this concept into simple terms, western medicine tends to treat the problem at hand, whereas Chinese or alternative medicine attempt to treat the whole body, mind and spirit. It is important to have both of these types of medicine in practice, however over the years many people have belittled the alternative medical profession on the basis of lack of scientific evidence. Unfair as it may be, due to the strong opinion of some medical doctors and scientists, people were turned off alternative medicine. An example of how strongly some bio medical practitioners are against natural medicine became apparent in 2012 when 400 high profile doctors, medical researchers and scientists joined forces to form lobby group Friends of Science in Medicine (FSM) in order to have ‘alternative medicine’ degrees removed from Australian universities (ABC, 2012). FSM claimed that these university courses were “putting the public at risk”. Some universities removed their natural therapy courses and the universities that refused to do so, stood by the importance of natural medicine, stating that they are very much evidence and science-based (ABC,