Acopuncture Diagnosis

There are some 900 acupuncture points in human body. The life force of the body, called of Chi by the Chinese, flows through these points in 24 streams. This Chi has two facts known as yin and yang. Yin is negative while Yang is positive force. When a man is healthy both these forces are evenly balanced. This balance when a person suffers from some diseases. When a needle is inserted at an acupuncture point, there is a chemical reaction and some special chemicals are produced which are known as secretion of that point.

The meridians through which this life force Chi flows are called Zang-Fu, Zang is symbolic of solid parts of the body like heart, stomach, lungs, kidneys, liver and Fu represents porous parts of the body—intestines, spleen, bladder and gall bladder. The electricity of the body, which we know as ‘Chetna’, is called Bio-Electricity in west. The system of acupuncture believes that life force flowing from solid body parts related to Zang is Yin or negative. The flow from Fu body parts is supposed to be Yang or positive.

For identifying the disease, the physician first examines the pulse. This process determines which parts of the body is affected or ill. There are twelve prominent method to examine the pulse in the Chinese system of medicine. The details have been given in the Article of Tibetan Healing (coming up).

From the examination of the pulse, it is determined if the illness is Yin or Yang. It is only then that the treatment is commenced by inserting needles at the ten related points.

Thirty five diseases can be successfully cured by acupuncture. This system has been employed in treating some 63 types of diseases. The treatment can be given daily or after an interval of 2-3 days. But, there should never be a gap of more than a week between two sittings. The treatment is given for fifteen to forty minutes at one time. From eight to eighteen needles are used in most of the cases. These needles are very thin. The pain in inserting them is less than what you feel when an injection is given to you.

Acupuncture is never used to cure cancer or hemorrhage. It cannot be a substitute for operation. Diseases requiring operation cannot be treated by acupuncture. Serious contagious diseases cannot be treated by this system.