Donna L Brogan.com

Acupuncture  is a practice beginning in China and can be traced back over eight thousands years. It can be found in areas of Asia, Japan, and Korea. It is considered to be a form of medicine whereby needles are inserted under the skin in certain areas of the body to control pain.  Recently it has been recognized in the western world, particularly the United Staes, as a legitimate form of medication. More doctors are recommending acupuncture to help with certain pains and issues, but it is still used in conjunction with modern medicine.

Traditionally, the Chinese saw the body as having several different working energy systems and run by the organs of our bodies.  At one time, disease was seen as a disruption in the body system.  The vital energy that runs through our bodies is known in acupuncture as “qi”.  This is what acupuncturists seek to heal through their work.  Qi (the energy flow) is blocked by pain.  Acupuncture has been said to unblock this pain.  From history acupuncturists claim, “no pain, no blockage; no blockage no pain.  This means that  if you can end the pain, the blockage will go away, and if you end the blockage your pain will go away.

Accupuncture’s major success of acceptance into society was first found during the Huang Di (The Yellow Emperor) Dynasty.  It was then that the ruler discussed medical traditions with his doctor. These dialogues became part of what we now know as The Nei Jing, and it is the earliest medical text found in Asia. It includes two sections—anatomy, disease, diagnosis, and the cosmos. The second is the aspects of acupuncture. During the 7th century AD, with the Sui and Tang Dynasties, acupuncture charts and texts were introduced to schools as a form of medicine. The techniques were slowly refined, and during the Ming Dynasty, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, major importance was established in the field with western medicine becoming less important in the early twentieth century.

 When it comes to the tradition of acupuncture, it prevailed in the 1950’s and doctors used it along with modern medicine.  Around the 1960s the practice was highly researched throughout the entire world. With the new millennium, acupuncture is now accepted by western medicine and has become a way of treatment.