Information for Specific Symptoms
Symptoms and Treatable Conditions
Acupuncture treatment comprises an important part of traditional Eastern medicinal practices that have been in use for many centuries in East Asia. The use of acupuncture in the treatment of both injuries and health conditions is also now widely recognized worldwide - including by respected global institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American National Institute of Health (NIH).
According to studies undertaken by the WHO, the reports of which are freely available online, the beneficial effects of traditional acupuncture treatment have been observed and clinically proven to be of benefit in the treatment of a range of health conditions and diseases.
Specific examples taken from the WHO article “Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials” together with a summary based on findings from the American National institute of Health (NIH) are provided in the tables below and provide strong testimony to the potential benefits to your well-being that can be achieved by undergoing treatment with an experienced practitioner of acupuncture.
Example Health Disorders and Symptomatic Indications where Acupuncture Treatment is recognized as Beneficial
Table 1: Conditions for which Acupuncture treatment is recognized as beneficial by both the NIH (USA) and the American Society of Acupuncture
| Control of chronic and acute pain | Arthritis & Osteoarthritis |
|---|---|
| Post-operative or post-traumatic conditions | Bursitis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome |
| Muscular spasms, trembling, tics, contractors (loss of muscle/tendon elasticity) | Menstrual cramps and pelvic pain |
| paraesthesia (ala “pins and needles”) | Insomnia |
| Anxiety, panic attacks | Anorexia |
| Detoxification from drug abuse | Heart conditions such as Idiopathic palpitations, sinus tachicardia |
| Neuralgias (of the trigeminal, Herpes Zoster, postherpethic, others) | Allergic sinusitis and rhinitis |
| Facial paralysis and other stroke effects such as Aphasia (speech loss), hemiplegia (limb paralysis) | Persistent hiccups |
| Digestive functional disorders such as nausea, vomiting, esophagi spasm, gastric hyperacidity, nervous colitis and irritable bowel syndrome, among others | Dermatosis such as urinary, frost-itch, eczema, psoriasis |
| Cluster headache, migraine, vertigo (including Meniere`s disease), tinnitus | Diarrhea and constipation, abdominal distension and flatulence |
| Neuropathic pain | Severe hyperthermia |
| Frozen shoulder | Coughs with the contraindication of taking narcotic drugs |
| Plantar Fasciitis (heal bone inflammation - typically from repeated lifting of weight) | Surgical acupunctural analgesia for high-risk patients or with contraindications of anesthetics |
Table 2: Conditions for which the benefits of Acupuncture treatment are recognized by World Health Organization (WHO) through clinical trial studies
| Respiratory Acute Sinusitis Acute Rhinitis Common Cold Acute Amigdalitis Bronchiopulmonary diseases Bronchial asthma Acute Bronchitis |
Gastroenterology Esophagic Spasm (including cardias spasm) Hiccups Gastroptosis Acute and chronic colitis and gastritis Gastric Hyperacidity Chronical duodenic ulcera Acute bacterial dysentery Constipation, diarrhea Paralytic Ileum |
|---|---|
| Ophthalmology Acute Conjunctivitis Cataracts (without complications) Shortsightedness Retinitis |
Neurology Cefalea, migraine Trigeminal Neuralgia Facial Paralysis Stroke sequelae Periphery Neuropathy Poliomyelitis (paralysis caused by) Meniere's Syndrome Neurogenic bladder Nocturnal Enuresis Intercostal Neuralgia |
| Stomatology Dental pain Pain after surgery or dental extraction |
Gingivitis Faringitis |
| Orthopedics Periartritis humeroescapularis Tennis player' elbow Sciatica |
Lumbago, dorsalgy Rheumatoid arthritis |
Sources:
“Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials” (2003)
Complete document available from the official World Health Organization website:
http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js4926e/5.html
National Health Institute (United States of America) Press Release (1997)
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/nov97/od-05.htm
Our Commentary
In general acupuncture treatment assists by aiding improvement to the conditions comprising a ‘disease state’ rather than by necessarily directly tackling “head-on” a single specifically identified and named ‘disease’.
For instance, with Uterine Fibroid conditions affecting women (benign tumor of the uterus), although it may not always be possible to address the root of this type of problem directly, acupuncture treatments can very quickly provide relief for the immediate symptoms and discomforts - which may include abdominal pain, cramps and back pain.
Initially, using the above-mentioned condition as a example, the person undertaking acupuncture treatment would need to accept the presence of the underlying ‘disease state’. However by undergoing a program of acupuncture treatment, the immediate discomforts can be addressed with the aim of also improving the person’s general physical state and well being. Following this approach and by paying closer attention to the maintenance of good physical condition - including more subtle concerns such as stabilizing a person’s body temperature - the person getting treatment can effectively heal their own state - and that often extends to resolving even serious underlying causative factors such as with uterine fibroid conditions (tumor of the uterus).
Actually, in the example of uterine fibroid conditions, we have treated many cases where the actual tumors of the women who have undergone treatment have been shown to have decreased in size significantly following participation in our needle-free type treatment program.
Example healing cycle to illustrate:
1. Pre-treatment stage - initial state of suffering with persons often finding themselves succumbing fully to the effect of symptoms
2. Treatment in-progress stage - disease (causative factors) may remain present whilst the symptoms are treated (we think of this as a state of “coexistence” where the underlying cause may remain but the aggravating conditions are being addressed thereby allowing the individual to recover strength)
3. Resolution stage - both the symptoms of an illness and the actual root disease (causative factor/s) can be addressed - leaving the person undergoing treatment in a completely comfortable state
Whilst the aim is inevitably to realize the complete (#3) resolution stage in all acupuncture treatments, such an outcome may not reasonably be possible for ALL cases - but it is certain that we can, at minimum, assist reaching within the first 2 stages, thereby paving the way for full recovery.
Further, a special note to persons who suffer such conditions as ‘autonomic imbalance’ (nervous system related disorder) and/or who suffer from symptoms that are not readily categorized or named through hospital level diagnosis, please feel free to contact us.
Serious Maladaptive Symptoms and Immediate or Life Threatening Conditions
We regret that we cannot treat persons suffering from immediate serious health conditions such as states of extreme mental imbalance, extreme high or low blood pressure, persons with threat of cardiac arrest, with high fever and/or other severe cardiac disorders, immune deficiency diseases or acutely infectious diseases.
If you are in any doubt regarding whether or not your symptoms are fit for treatment by way of traditional acupuncture then please visit us only after first receiving the appropriate medical attention and opinion of a qualified doctor or hospital.
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