What are the main acupuncture points? There are over 306 regular points and then there are extraordinary points with different meridians and vessels. In Acupuncture there are over 306 regular points throughout...
In Acupuncture there are over 306 regular points throughout the body, and there are extraordinary points with different meridians and vessels. Each meridian represents one of the 12 inner organs - one meridian along the spine and another along the midline of the abdomen. In ancient times, the number of acupuncture points established correlated with the number of days in a year. There are complete mappings of body structures and functions by points along the outer ears, on the nose, in the scalp, on the hands, on the feet, and at the wrists and ankles, according to the Los Angeles Chinese Learning Center.
"These points move energy, quantify and nourish the organs," said Annie Sturman, an acupuncturist physician and owner of Annie Sturman Acupuncture. For example, if a person is depressed or feeling sluggish with no energy then everything in the body does not move. So by moving the energy, the opposite of depression occurs, motion. When there is pain in a joint that means the blood of the energy is not moving, so again one has to move the energy, Sturman said.
To find the points on the body, an acupuncturist uses a measurement called cun. It can only be used on certain parts of the body when finding the points. For example, the space from nipple to nipple is 8 cun and this 8 cun can be used to find points on the chest, according to Yin Yang House, a site devoted to acupuncture and oriental medicine. For each point on the body the name of the meridian, the number of the point, the number of standard points on the meridian, its designation by one of the number based classification systems and the Chinese name are given to help the patient and the acupuncturist pinpoint the exact location to help both in the future.
According to the Los Angeles Chinese Learning Center, "it is important to recognize that although a list of disorders and diseases treated by each point can be given, sometimes the points are selected entirely or primarily on the basis of the Chinese theory of balancing the flow in the meridians, so the point might be used for other kinds of disorders, aside from those listed, because of its usefulness in this balancing process."
Prescriptions are also used to help treat a patient. Classic, ancient prescriptions and natural supplements are used to help for moving physical and emotional energy due to pain and depression. Natural supplements are highly recommended because there are few and often no side-effects due to natural ingredients. There are no chemical residues and they treat from the root, not the symptom. According to The World Health Organization, one in three Americans had used alternative therapies. They say that while Western techniques are clearly better at dealing with trauma and bacterial infection, the Ancient Medicine is more successful with chronic diseases such as asthma.
